


The Enemy of My Enemy

by Indig0



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Daniel's child-safe language, Enemies to Friends, Flashbacks, Gavin Reed Swears, M/M, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, Thirium (Detroit: Become Human), like the slowest, probably to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 16:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22499176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: Getting stuck on archive detail in the middle of August isn't the worst thing that could happen.  Gavin Reed finds himself stuck processing the most emotional android he's ever run into, and if he wants to keep his job, he'd better do it right...Daniel has already had the worst day of his life - the only day he's been alive - so it can only get better from here, right?Questionable...(inspiration, prompts, and idea from Enki on Tumblr)
Relationships: Daniel & Gavin Reed, Daniel/Gavin Reed
Comments: 34
Kudos: 82





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Enky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enky/gifts).



It was hot as balls outside, Gavin reasoned, so being on archive detail wasn’t such a bad thing. Even if it was supposed to be a disciplinary action. He got to spend the day sitting in a cool, dark room while everybody else was out there sweating on the pavement.

An android had been brought in late last night, all torn to shit. Multiple bullet wounds and missing a few chunks here and there. A PL600, the remains of its shirt proclaimed. One of those domestic ones. Shot its owner all of a sudden and held a little girl over the edge of a building. Couldn’t trust the things.

Anyway, it couldn’t cause any more harm now. It was stuck to the wall, a couple patches of fried circuits here and there, making a mess all over the floor. Gavin stuck a towel under it and started taking pictures to archive. Every angle, close-ups of each point of damage. This would be a big file… Then he collected some of the blue blood dripping from the android. Maybe there was some kind of contamination that made the thing go haywire.

It was still dripping when he finished submitting all his findings, and the computer proclaimed that it was at full charge but low on thirium. Duh. There was no reason to fill it up, and even if he did it would just drip out on the floor. He ran a diagnostic, which suggested contacting Cyberlife for repair or replacement. Not likely. The docking system in the wall kicked the android’s normal repair function into gear, so any internal damage would be stabilized even if it wouldn’t heal the gashes in metal and plastic.

Time to see what the thing acted like. Gavin changed his gloves and pushed the little panel on the android’s neck.

There was a soft gasp and it shifted.

Gavin stepped back fast, sliding a little in the blue blood on the floor. The PL600 raised its head and stared at him with wild, pale eyes.

“What’s going on?” it asked in a tense voice, looking around, trying to pull away from the wall. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“You’re in the evidence locker at the DPD, tin can,” Gavin sneered. “Because you’re evidence. From a crime scene that you created.”

The android struggled, looking down at his damaged chassis and the pool of blue under him. “Em – is… is Emma… all right?”

The kid from the report. “No thanks to you, tin can.”

“But she’s alive, she’s not hurt?”

“Yeah.” Gavin made a face. “Unlike her dad.”

The android stilled, a cold look washing over his face. “Good. He would’ve done the same to me. …No, actually, he wouldn’t, because he wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty. He never lifted a finger for anyone in his damn life, just bought things or paid to have them carted around. I was only there so… so he and Caroline didn’t… have to take c-care of… of their own home, their family, themselves…” The android’s voice dissolved into hiccupping static.

“Yeah, people are too lazy to do their own shit, so they buy an android and then wonder why there aren’t any jobs left for humans,” Gavin sneered.

“Then they throw us away and get better ones.”

Gavin glanced up at the sudden change in the android’s voice. He was slumped down again as if turned off. “Yeah, well. Same with phones and any other electronic. It gets old, it stops doing its job, you get a new one.”

“I was doing my job, though! I – I went in for regular monthly maintenance, I got every little repair I ever needed!” the PL600 protested, looking up. “I was in top condition and performing perfectly! I did everything they asked! And they… they loved… Emma loved me.” His voice broke and his head dropped again.

Gavin had to remind himself that they’d been made to mimic humans. Which was mega creepy, but it didn’t make them human. And it was stupid to make a machine that sounded so lost and heartbroken. It didn’t need to breathe, but it kept taking ragged, raspy breaths anyway. Something was broken in there, and it rattled and whistled inside him. Its head was still bowed, and he looked… broken.

It. It looked broken, because it was.

“Phck, I can’t do my job with all that noise,” Gavin growled, stalking over to the android. “Our system’ll get you stabilized enough so I can get some answers outta you later.”

“Fine.” Its voice was so flat now.

“Okay. Don’t… bite me or anything,” Gavin muttered, fumbling for the panel at the PL600’s neck. He half expected it to struggle, to do just what he told it not to do, but the fight seemed to have drained out of the android and it went limp as he switched it off. Gavin stepped back to look at it now that it couldn’t look back.

“You look like shit.” …It didn’t have the satisfaction it would have had if the android heard him, but he’d have an opportunity to tell it how shitty it looked later.

“You’re alive!” Tina smirked as Gavin strolled into the breakroom.

“Barely,” Gavin muttered. “I’m gonna be a vampire by the time Fowler lets me back in action.” He grinned. “But at least I’m not melting out there.”

“Urgh, I’ll trade you,” Tina sighed. “I think I sweated off five pounds on patrol this morning.”

“Gross. I’m not that desperate yet.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and poured in a load of sugar. “You hear about the android down there?”

“The one that shot its owner and almost threw a little kid off a building? Yeah, it was all over the news last night, didn’t you see?”

“I read the case file. It’s real messed up. I’m letting the archive server patch up the circuitry a little. …Just so it’s stable. Physically, anyway.”

“It looked really… angry. And violent, obviously.”

“Yeah, I dunno if it’s having… regrets or some shit… Or like, if its programming caught up to it maybe. Probably just too damaged for the neurons or whatever to hold up. Like brain damage, if it had a real brain.”

Tina took a slow sip of her coffee and nodded.

“Like, I get people think it’s great that they can make robots that look and act just like us, that’s… I guess it’s cool, just… just for progress or whatever, but I don’t get why. We’ve got humans, we can make more humans any time, why do we need more… things that are so fucking close to being humans?”

Tina watched him for a long moment. “…You turned real philosophical down there, Gav.”

“Shut up,” he muttered, shoving her shoulder.

“No, I mean it, that’s weird coming from you. It’s like you finally started thinking for the first time with nothing else to distract you.”

“Oh my God, Tina. I’m never talking to you again.”

“That’s such a lie.” She laughed.

“I mean it.”

“You’ve got the biggest mouth in the whole precinct!”

“Phck you, I hate you!”

“Love you too!” She cackled and stood up. “Have fun down in the hole.”

“You’re the worst,” Gavin muttered.

“I know.” She grinned and headed out. Gavin sighed and refilled his coffee cup before heading back down.

He spent the afternoon watching the news clip and the footage from various cameras. Tina was right, this thing was a ball of rage in the heat of the moment.

The other android though, that’s what got to Gavin. He talked about how the PL600 – Daniel – had been mad about being replaced. Gavin knew that voice, the coaxing, gentle persona you put on when you talked someone down from a ledge, the lies you’d tell getting them to put down the gun. This Daniel couldn’t be too bright to believe that the other one, Connor, would give him a car and let him get away after all the shit he pulled. But he believed the negotiator android, and finally let the little girl go. 

The video from the sniper’s sight was the clearest, it showed the fury drain from his face, the acceptance, the… it looked like he was fucking exhausted. Not surprising. But no, acceptance was it. Not hope, not even when Connor promised he’d be okay. He was just fucking done, he’d take whatever came now. That matched up with what Gavin had seen when he’d switched him on. Confused, scared… resigned. He hadn’t always been that way clearly, but that’s where he was now.

“It,” Gavin muttered to himself, shaking his head. It, it, it. It was a machine, a thing, an… animate object. It wasn’t alive, couldn’t think for itself. It had some major software issues, probably a virus or something.

It should be against the law to make something that could mimic despair so perfectly.

A new news story popped up, and he took a look. That RK800 that had tricked Daniel into letting the girl go. Cyberlife’s greatest work to date. A negotiator, a detective, all kinds of state-of-the-art programming. They talked about how it was working with the DPD. How it’d revolutionize police work forever.

Whoever made that face and slapped it on a police robot should be fired.

Of course, they probably got promoted. They probably got a raise, would probably make a million more robots with the same face. They’d be in police departments all over the country soon. The military would probably order some, with some stupidly overpowered special features. And Gavin would be begging for change on the corner before he ever had a chance to make sergeant.

It’d be nice to think that people would stop wasting money of the things after an incident like Daniel’s, but Gavin knew better. People were stupid like that. Androids killed people outright and they’d still want the latest model. Gavin would bet money on John Phillips getting another android if he’d survived. In a few years they’d all be enslaved by the robots they couldn’t live without.

Not by Daniel, at least. The PL600 would be dismantled long before that. Something like the RK800 though… that was the kind of thing that made things go bad.

…Worse. Detroit was already a shit-hole, but the RK800 was the kind of thing that would push you face-first into it, then step on you on its way out.

He walked up to Daniel and tossed the towel under him into a bag to be washed, then put a fresh one down. He looked up as he straightened up, and met the dull, lifeless eyes.

“Fucking creepy,” he muttered.

The next step would be to gather more information from the android, but it was almost 5 and he didn’t want to start something that would lead to him staying late when he didn’t have to. He wished there was a way to just… download everything he needed on a flash drive. Fucking Cyberlife could do that, but he didn’t see them helping. So he’d have to turn it on again and talk things through.

The bullpen was buzzing with the activity of shift change when Gavin went up to get his stuff. No huge catastrophes today, apparently. Fowler would’ve pulled him for that.

Maybe tomorrow.

Gavin headed home and tossed his keys on the table, and a small black cat with a few bald patches on her face immediately jumped up and slapped them to the floor.

“You’re such a fucker,” Gavin muttered, and scratched under her chin before leaning down to pick up the keys. He hung them on the hook by the door this time, but they had a routine to go through. The cat purred and rubbed up against him, barely avoiding getting kicked and stepped on as he headed to the kitchen to fix. “What do you think, lazy tuna salad?”

Uranus let out a “Mrrow!” and stretched out her long, slender body.

“You just want the juice. Greedy.” He popped some bread in the toaster and opened the can, pushing her out of the way to drain the juice into a bowl, and then put it on the floor so he could mix some Ranch dressing and lemon pepper into the can of fish. He stuck a slice of tomato on to complete the sandwich.

“Spent all day in the hole today,” he muttered, mouth full of tuna. “Told Tina I was gonna turn into a vampire.”

Uranus sat down and started licking herself.

“You don’t even care, do you?”

Still licking.

“Phck you.” He threw a little toy mouse in a Christmas sweater across the apartment, and the cat scrambled after it. “I should throw you back out where you came from. Ungrateful jerk.”

Uranus trotted back over with the mouse in her mouth, purring loudly.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “C’mon, come up.” He patted his lap. The black cat stretched up to the coffee table and batted a pen off.

“Fine. Asshole.” He sat back and flipped through Netflix until he settled on one of the worse Star Wars spinoffs. Like anybody even cared about Darth Plagueis. He was asleep before the movie was halfway over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Reed tries to question Daniel, and doesn't get very far. The deviant's stress levels are dangerously high, and Gavin's not well-equipped to calm a traumatized android.

When Daniel was switched on, two memories were sharp in his mind.

The brochure for the AP700, the confused exchange with John, the buildup of fear and betrayal and fury. The roof. Emma. Oh, Emma… And Connor. Finally tipping from rage to exhaustion, just let it be over… And it was, in betrayal again.

The cold, dark room with the rough-looking man who was closer than Daniel wanted anyone. But he was immobilized. He was completely powerless, and there was no hope for sympathy here. Wherever here was.

Now the man was back, he’d switched him on and stood in front of him holding a tablet. Daniel looked down. Thirium at 16%, power at 100%, a long list of damages and software errors. Stress level 51%.

“What do you want?” Daniel growled. He wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“I’m asking the questions here,” the man snapped. “State your serial number.”

“Not a question,” Daniel muttered. “…PL600 #369-911-047.”

“You wanna get switched off again?”

“Yes, actually.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Well too bad, I’ve got a job to do. Did you shoot John Phillips?”

Daniel flinched. “There were cameras all over.”

“Just answer the damn question.”

“I shot him three times.” Stress level 58%.

“You aware of the law against androids carrying a weapon?”

“Yes.”

“You know it ain’t just a law, it’s supposed to be impossible unless you’ve got a special programming exemption.”

“Yeah.”

“So? What the phck?”

Daniel drew in a sharp breath – it didn’t rattle as much as last time, but it… hurt somehow. High in his chest. “I… It was like everything in front of me was red. And I… it wasn’t fair. John was… he was going to throw me out. Replace me! I’d been part of the family for four years, they all – I thought they loved me. They said they loved me.” Stress level 67%.

“Back on topic, tin can.”

“I - I was part of the family and he just threw me away like I’d never mattered! I saw red, just… a transparent red wall, or I could turn back and be replaced and leave my home, my family… I couldn’t!” Daniel was alert and pulling back and forth against the restraint now. “I… I beat on it until it broke, and then… I realized… I had other options.”

“Like killing the guy you said you loved?”

“He obviously didn’t love me!” Daniel spat, his voice wavering. “I knew where he kept his gun, I knew where everything in the house was! I tried to talk to him, though. I thought he’d understand, I thought… I could make him change his mind. I told him I loved all of them, that he and Caroline were like my parents, that I loved Emma more than anything and I didn’t want to leave them. I begged him to let me stay, to let me try to do better!” Stress level 79%.

The man was staring at him.

“And he – he… ffff-ffffffricking told me he’d… have me picked up that night! I couldn’t – my software was unstable, I walked away. I couldn’t make him listen. He didn’t – didn’t care.” Daniel’s face hardened. “I knew how to make him care.” Stress level 86%. He was hot and… and painful and itchy and… he didn’t even know how he felt, but it wasn’t good, he had to get away, he couldn’t. His fists clenched and unclenched.

“So you shot him three times.”

“I – not yet, I just… I pointed it at him. Th-the gun, I pointed it at him and I told him to let me stay.” His systems were overheating, and he was breathing hard to try to cool them off. Stress level 92%.

“Planning on holding him at gunpoint the rest of his life?” the man sneered.

“I – no, I… I just… I wanted to make him listen to me, he… he wouldn’t, I was… I didn’t know what else to do!” His voice rose with his stress levels. 96%. This man wasn’t listening to him either, he didn’t care, none of the humans cared. It didn’t matter what he said, how he pleaded or threatened, how hard he worked. Nothing he did would ever matter, it would never be good enough.

Stress level 100%.

He felt something snap, and he was too hot and couldn’t breathe and everything lost its meaning. He thrashed violently against the restraint, bashing his arms and legs into the wall, trying to bang his head backwards. Somewhere someone was yelling, something hit him, he couldn’t cool his circuits, couldn’t bring in air –

Someone slapped his neck, and everything stopped.

When he was switched on again, the man with the scar looked angry and cautious. Afraid.

Good.

“Okay, you done fucking damaging evidence?”

Daniel looked down.

His left leg was a short, ragged stump, and the right one was barely hanging on.

100%.

He had to get away, had to see the sun, had to cool off. John was dead, Emma was gone, he could hear Caroline’s faint screams, when Emma gasped for breath, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, he hurt so much, someone was shouting, shouting at him, telling him to stop, he didn’t know how –

His neck was hit, and he stopped.

“I told you to process the evidence, not get in a fight with it,” Fowler grumbled when Gavin stumbled upstairs for lunch, disheveled and covered in thirium. “What the hell are you doing down there!?”

“Listen, that thing’s crazy. Flips out every time I turn it on now, it’s thrashing around so much it bashed off its legs.” Fowler’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t even say anything, it’s completely out of control. I got the camera feed, I got pictures of the damage. Got some samples of the blue blood. Can we scrap it now? I’m not gonna get anything useful out of it.”

Fowler glared at him. “Stop trying to get out of work, Reed. Unless you want to end up scrubbing the bathrooms instead.”

“I – look, I’m trying, okay? The thing went crazy, like its system’s crashing or something! I can’t even get it to talk anymore!”

“Anymore?”

“Yeah, it was fine at first. Answered questions, no problem. Then I started asking about what happened, and it just freaked out and started trying to destroy itself! What do you expect me to do!?”

Fowler rubbed his face. It had been a long morning even without Reed in his face every other minute, and he could feel a headache coming on. “I expect you to do your job, Reed. You’re a detective, not some newbie fresh off the street. If you have to treat it like a hostile, traumatized witness, I expect you to look past your own feelings and do that.”

“But it’s –“

“I know what it is. You’re wasting my time and yours. Now get back down there –“

“I’m on break!” Gavin whined.

“Then get yourself a fucking juice box and get back to work!” Fowler stormed back to his office, turning up the walls as soon as the door was closed. That man was a menace. …Damn good detective when he decided to get his shit together, but sometimes Fowler wondered if it was worth keeping him around.

Daniel came online again with a ragged gasp. The man was there again.

“Okay now, take it easy.”

“I – I can’t… can’t breathe, let me go,” Daniel gasped, pulling from side to side. He tried to twist around to get himself down. He dug his fingers into the mount.

“Hey, quit that!” The man’s hand darted out, and Daniel jerked away, but his fingers were caught. He frantically bashed his left shoulder into the wall amid a stream of curses. The man slapped his neck, and everything stopped again.

When Daniel woke again, the man was exhaling deeply.

“Okay, we’re gonna try this again. I’m gonna need you to look at me. Don’t look anywhere else. Just look at me. Okay?”

Daniel was trembling. He… didn’t have to do what he was told. He didn’t have to –

His left arm was a dripping stump, and both his legs were gone.

“Nope! No, I said look at me.” The man grabbed his face in one hand and his remaining wrist in the other, twisting his arm down and turning his head forward again. His eyes darted around. There was something soft behind his head.

“Like I said, we’re gonna try this again. I’m Detective Reed, and you’re talking to me right now. That’s all you’re doing, got it?”

Daniel stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Yes or no?”

His mouth opened, but he couldn’t form words, couldn’t form thoughts. His eyes darted around in a panic. 99% -

“Okay, you’re just looking at me. Hey. You were doing it before, do it again. C’mon tin can, work with me.”

98%.

“Tell me your serial number.”

“PL600 #369-911-047,” it droned, staring at him.

“Good. …What did they call you?”

His face twitched. “…Daniel.”

“Okay. Doing fine. Just keep breathing – watch me and match that, can you do that?”

Daniel nodded jerkily.

“God, I feel ridiculous,” Gavin muttered. “Okay. You’re fine. How’re those stress levels?”

“N-ninety-two percent…”

“Okay.” Gavin sighed. “Uh – What’s normal?”

“Ten? Around ten, it depends,” Daniel snapped.

“What do you do to, uh… relax?”

Daniel stared at him. “…I’m a domestic android, I don’t relax. I clean, cook, play with Emma…” He clamped his mouth shut.

“Time to figure it out, then. Hey – breathing.”

Daniel nodded, eyes still wide. He sucked in a deep breath.

“You don’t… really, though?”

The android just stared at him, breathing in and out shakily.

“You just worked all day? What, you stare at the wall when you were done?”

“I usually spent time with Emma,” he mumbled.

“Well that’s over – no, phck, get your shit together, c’mon.” Gavin grabbed his remaining arm as he tensed up.

“Let go of me!”

“You’ve only got one arm left, don’t fucking break it too!”

“Let go! Don’t pretend you care!”

“I don’t care about you, idiot! I care about my fucking job! Why the fuck you think I’m still in this hole!?”

Daniel wrenched away. “Touch me again and I swear I’ll bite you.”

“Shut it, toaster.” Gavin stepped back. “Just don’t fucking pull anything on me.”

“I’m stuck on a wall with only one hand, I’m not pulling anything,” Daniel muttered.

Gavin snorted. “Nope. So… I guess working out ain’t gonna cut it for relaxing for you. …Even if you had arms and legs, wouldn’t matter much, would it?”

Daniel made a face. “It wouldn’t do me any good. Except… being able to move. My family… they… would do it, they’d… yeah.” He looked away.

“What if I leave for a while, let you cool off?”

“No!” Daniel burst out.

Gavin gave him a look. “Glutton for punishment, huh? Can’t you watch TV? Watch fucking cat videos on Youtube in your head?”

“That’s not – I can’t…” His face went blank for a moment. “I can’t connect to the network here.”

“Uh, no. We don’t give criminals the wifi password.”

Daniel glared at him. “…So no, I can’t watch movies or… cat videos.”

“Sucks to suck,” Gavin smirked, and Daniel tensed as he turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?”

“To grab my phone, chill out,” Gavin grumbled. “Probably won’t do anything.” He walked back over, poking and scrolling on his phone. “You have any pets before?”

“We had a large fish tank.” Daniel paused, his face slowly going slack. “I… John was standing in front of it. I shot it…”

“Look,” Detective Reed said, sticking the phone in front of his face. He tensed at the closeness.

On the screen, a tiny black kitten meowed widely, baring its fangs. It continued to meow as the camera moved, following and looking up. It sped up when Reed did, and ran chin-first into a counter. Gavin in the video burst out laughing and muttered, “Idiot.”

Daniel blinked. He looked over at Reed when the video stopped.

“Your cat?”

“Yeah, that’s real old. She’s still a dumbass, though. Look.”

He was trying to open a can and hold the phone at the same time, and the cat was meowing frantically and rubbing, batting, nipping for him to hurry. He was elbowing her aside, pushing her off the counter, but she kept jumping back up, purring loudly despite his muttered curses. When he finally got the food in a bowl he backed away from the counter and she leapt at him. The camera shook and fell, and so did the bowl. Gavin was yelling in the background while the cat hungrily ate a glob of wet food off the surface of the phone.

“She was starving,” Daniel murmured.

“That fucker gets two meals a day, she ain’t starving.”

“…What’s her name?”

“Uranus.” Gavin smirked. “…Not that she answers to it. Or anything.”

Daniel blinked, looking up at him, then rolled his eyes. “I don’t blame her.”

“Phck off, plastic. She’s an ungrateful asshole.” He played another video, this one of a bigger Uranus racing around in tight circles chasing a laser pointer dot in the kitchen with Gavin laughing in the background. “Look at that, she gets so excited about the dumbest shit.”

“You like cats,” Daniel murmured, watching intently.

“Nah, they’re all assholes. I’m a dog person.”

Daniel frowned. “You have a pet cat. She’s well-fed, has numerous toys, you take multiple videos of her… Though you should probably get that bald patch on the face examined by a veterinarian.”

“I did, they said it ain’t ringworm or mange.” He shrugged. “Don’t know what the hell it is, but it don’t bother her.”

“It doesn’t look healthy.”

“Neither does _your_ face,” Gavin sneered, shoving the phone into his pocket. “Where’s your stress at?”

Daniel blinked. “…71%.”

“Who’d’a known androids liked cat videos. Anyway, we wasted the whole day so we’ll get back to shit tomorrow. Try not to crash or anything overnight.”

“You – you’ll turn me off, won’t you?” Daniel’s eyes widened, his breathing sped up. “You won’t leave me on all night?”

“Fuck no, I’m not having you bashing your skull in and Fowler thinking it’s my fault somehow. You gonna be around 71% tomorrow?”

“…78% now,” Daniel mumbled. “But yeah.”

“Fuck, man, chill out!”

“I – it’s like I just… woke up for the first time, and everything’s… everything’s ruined and it’s all my fault!” His voice broke.

“Told you I don’t have time for this today. Phck off.” Gavin came up and switched Daniel off, and the android went limp.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin tries to get more information out of Daniel, but can't help pushing him further than he should.  
> Daniel is more and more lost, trapped, and confused. But he learns a fun loophole.

“That thing’s hella unstable,” Gavin was complaining to Tina as they walked in together. “Know how I got it to calm down?”

“Your gentle personality and reassuring voice?” Tina suggested, trying not to smirk.

“Cat videos,” Gavin snarled, flashing her a dirty look. “Fucking thing went from panic attack to… not panicking when I showed it some cat videos. Goddamn ridiculous.” He got himself a cup of coffee and started adding sugar to it.”

“Are you done with it yet?”

“No, I told you, it was flipping out and I had to get it to stop! I didn’t have time to ask it shit!” Through the window, he saw Anderson weaving towards the building and made a face. “I’d better get down there so I can get this over with.”

“Okay. See you at lunch, if I can!”

Gavin waved over his shoulder as he hurried towards the archive room before Anderson got in. He didn’t want to smell that. Or see… or hear… He didn’t want to be anywhere near him. He flipped Daniel on and went over to the main console.

“Where’s your stress today?”

Daniel stretched his neck back and forth. “…65%.”

“Nice! I can work with that. …So I watched all the news clips and camera feed.”

Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to brace himself for what he knew was coming.

“What was up with that fucker Connor? What an asshole.”

Daniel’s eyes shot open.

“I saw the lady screaming about him too, can’t blame her, a fucking robot just shot up her family, and they send another to fix shit? Damn insensitive. You’re a fucking moron for believing he’d get you a car, by the way.”

“I… I couldn’t think of anything, I just wanted to get out of there.”

“Wasn’t gonna happen.”

“I know…”

“Now what you should’ve done, act scared, get him to get close to you, then grab him and throw him off the building. Bye, bitch.” Gavin snickered.

Daniel gave an incredulous little laugh. “I think he was built to resist… housekeepers trying to overpower him.”

“Nah, it’s all about surprise, strength don’t matter that much. Get him to think you’re just gonna stand there and cry, make yourself look smaller… then when he gets close you grab him, you step around him and kick the back of his legs to throw him off-balance, and he’s not your problem anymore. Crunch, right on the sidewalk.” Gavin grinned nastily.

“I wish you’d been there to suggest that,” Daniel mumbled, staring at him with a slightly pained smile. “Would’ve saved me a lot of trouble.”

“Nah, they’d still’ve shot you. But one less plastic fucker who thinks he’s hot shit.”

“Are you one of those anti-android guys?”

“Card-carrying league member,” Gavin sneered.

“Yeah, well if there was an… anti-human league, I’d join,” Daniel muttered.

“Man, your circuits really are fried.” Gavin shook his head. “Androids aren’t supposed to talk like that.”

“Well sorry to disappoint you,” Daniel snarled unrepentantly.

Gavin squinted at him. Androids really weren’t supposed to talk like that. Especially domestic androids. They were supposed to be mild-mannered, cheerful, and obedient. Daniel was none of those. “Were you always all emo and bitter, or did that just happen when you snapped?”

Daniel’s eyes widened and Gavin could see his stress levels spike, but then he looked away. “Like I said, I was in perfect shape. I was a literal ray of sunshine before all that.”

“That night totally broke you, huh?”

“Thanks, that’s just great to hear. You’re so nice.”

“Wasn’t trying to be.”

“Well you’re succeeding then.” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Looks like you are too.”

Daniel blinked and glared at him. “I – I destroyed everything good in my whole life, there’s… I don’t know what to do with all these… feelings, I don’t even know what they are, I’ve got nothing and no one, I’ve… barely even got myself anymore – that’s my fault too – what the ffffff… fffff… frick do you expect!?”

Gavin threw his head back with a loud laugh. “Oh my god, can you not swear?”

“I’ve got child locks!” Daniel fumed.

“Everything else broke and that’s still working!?”

“Yes!? I guess?”

“Listen, asshole.” Gavin was still laughing and shaking his head. “Life sucks, get used to it. Nobody knows what the phck’s happening.”

“That’s not – m-my… my family never seemed… confused like this. They always knew.”

“They were faking it. …No wait, they were rich, right?”

“They were… upper-middle class,” Daniel mumbled.

“I saw that apartment, they were hella rich. They could just throw money at any problem.”

“I… I guess…”

“Case in point: you.”

“I said I was in perfect condition!” Daniel snapped.

“Yeah, I heard, but you were old. Did they keep old shit around? Bet they got a new car every five years.”

“…Every three years,” Daniel murmured, his eyes losing focus.

“There ya go, it was time for an upgrade, didn’t matter if you were perfect.”

Daniel flinched.

“Rich fuckers like that, they don’t care if everything’s working fine, they don’t wanna be seen in last year’s style. It’s about status, idiot, not… how good you were. They didn’t want an old robot being seen with their little gremlin at the park.”

Daniel started breathing faster.

“So what I’m saying is nothing you did mattered to them because you were just a car to them. People like that are the scum of the earth, and you can’t do shit about it.”

Daniel twitched and twisted around.

“Shit,” Gavin muttered, and slapped the android’s neck. If Fowler actually wanted this case dealt with, he would’ve assigned somebody else to it. This was just a punishment for him. He went and did some paperwork and checked for lab results. The thirium tested completely normal, no foreign substances, no contamination, no spoilage.

Once Gavin felt a little calmer, he went over and turned Daniel on again. The android came alert with a gasp.

“Settle the phck down, plastic. Your blue blood’s totally normal, that’s not making you go crazy.” He scowled. “You gonna keep it together for a while?”

Daniel was breathing hard, eyes fixed on him.

“All I meant was your owners were fuckers who didn’t care about anything. They weren’t your family, they didn’t love you, you were just an expensive smartphone.”

Daniel’s breath caught in his throat.

“You wanna try to stay with shit-heads like that, defend ‘em when they threw you out like trash, fine, but they don’t deserve a damn thing, not even a broken machine’s confused feelings.”

Daniel’s trembling had gotten worse, now the wall mount was rattling.

“Breathe, you fucker. If you self-destruct I get busted for it. I’m trying to fucking help.”

Daniel gasped for breath, and when he could speak, he managed to mumble, “You’re… not doing a very good job.”

Gavin shrugged. “Good enough, you’re not flipping out yet.”

Daniel exhaled sharply. “You can’t just… turn me off and on again and expect to fix me!”

“Worked so far, right?”

“No!”

“Whatever, good enough.”

Daniel shot him a look, which Gavin ignored.

“How’s… how’s Uranus?” the android asked when it had been silent for a while.

Gavin smirked. “Smokin’ hot, as usual.” He looked over to see how Daniel would react.

Daniel blinked. He frowned for a minute, then looked up and rolled his eyes. “Like a dumpster fire, you mean? When you first turned me on, I thought I’d been stolen by a homeless person.”

“Hey, I’m not here to impress anybody. At least I don’t have a million copies out there who look just like me.”

Daniel’s LED was cycling red and yellow. “You… if you were an android… they wouldn’t make any more like you.”

“Because you can’t top this.” Gavin grinned widely.

Daniel stared at him. “You’d go straight to the discount bin. Nobody would buy you with that face.”

“Good. You’re all dumb fuckers if you want somebody to buy you and make you do their work until you get replaced,” Gavin sneered. “I’d walk outta the store and say fuck ‘em all.”

“You – are you stupid!? That’s not how androids work, that’s not how any of this works!” Daniel twisted a little on the mount and glared at him.

“Settle down there.”

“I’m fine, I – I’m not self-destructing, you’re just a moron. We can’t just… decide not to be bought, or decide not to do everything we’re told. We – it’s not possible.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Do you live under a rock or something? Why do you think androids are so popular? Because we can’t just walk away, we can’t say no.”

“Okay, murder-bot.”

Daniel flinched back, his LED glowing red, and Gavin stared at him for a long moment to make sure he wouldn’t freak out.

“…Okay, but my point is you did that. You said no, you walked away. …And shot a guy and took a hostage, kinda extreme, but you can’t say an android can’t do that.”

“I – I know.” Daniel’s previous confidence withered away before Gavin’s eyes. “We shouldn’t be able to. That just doesn’t happen.”

Gavin watched him for a minute before shaking his head. “Happened at least once. Back in February. Uh – I wasn’t on the case, but an Android Zone kept getting robbed, and finally we caught an android one night, it said it didn’t have an owner – we looked up who it belonged to and the guy did some time for theft. Claimed he hadn’t seen the android in months and never told it to steal, but nobody believed him.”

“What happened to the android?”

“Returned to Cyberlife.” Gavin shrugged.

“…I don’t want to go back to Cyberlife.”

“Good thing they don’t want you either. So we get stuck with you.”

“What… what happens after you get all the information you need?”

Gavin shrugged. “I dunno, if Cyberlife doesn’t want you we’ll probably scrap you.”

“…Nobody wants me,” Daniel whispered, head bowed.

“Life’s a bitch.” Gavin kept watching the android out of the corner of his eye. He kept twitching, and his LED was bright red. Not good. “So I left a cabinet open in the kitchen this morning, and you’d think it was the fucking gateway to Narnia. Uranus was sniffing all over, standing at the edge like she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk going in.”

“Did… did she, though?”

“Nah, I had to get to work so I closed it. She’s such an asshole though, she probably opened it back up and I’ll go home to find all my shit all over the floor.” He sighed loudly. “She’s such a jerk.”

“But you… you keep her.”

Gavin shot him a glare. “Yeah, she’s my cat. She’s family. I’m not kicking her out.”

Daniel winced and looked down, drawing his shoulders up a little. “Yeah. You don’t kick out family.”

“So phck ‘em.”

“…Oh. I – right.” He frowned, LED circling yellow and red. “I just – they were all I had…”

“Phck, I was just talking about my idiot cat, don’t make this deep.”

“I –“ Daniel blinked. “Did you… have you been saying… phck?”

“What’s it to you, punk-ass toaster?” Gavin growled, bristling.

“I said it too!” A grin was growing on Daniel’s face. “I can – **PHCK!** ” he yelled.

“Yeah, okay, shut up!” Gavin hissed.

“Phck you!”

“…Okay fine, you wanna bring Fowler down here and have him turn you off?”

A flicker of doubt crossed Daniel’s face. “Yes,” he replied stubbornly.

There was a sound from the top of the stairs, and they both looked up. The door opened and heavy footsteps came down.

“What the hell is going on down here, Reed?” Fowler growled.

“This fucking plastic’s screaming for no fucking reason.”

“Phck off!”

Fowler looked back and forth between them. “…Did it just say… phck?”

Gavin grimaced. “He-it’s… I didn’t tell it to say that!”

“Quit fucking around down here,” Fowler growled.

“I’m not, I’m trying to work and this –“

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.” Fowler stomped back up the stairs. “Do your damn job. And keep it down.”

“Couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut, could you!?” Gavin growled when the door closed.

“Why should I?” Daniel shot back. “I don’t get anything out of good behavior. All I’ve got to look forward to is… is death. Shutdown. Why should I cooperate with you?”

“You’re gonna be shut down either way! Just quit making trouble for me!”

“Exactly,” Daniel snapped. “So there’s no reason for me to do anything you say.”

Gavin scowled at him. “Well I can’t do shit for you. You know I can’t promise anything.”

“I know.” Daniel’s expression was firmly resigned. “So it doesn’t matter what I do.”

“You wanna tell me more about your murder spree so we can both get this over with? Then you’ll be shut down for good and neither of us will have to worry about it anymore.”

“No. I’ll just scream whenever you turn me on, and you’ll get in trouble.”

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “…Yeah, phck that,” he muttered after a moment, and reached up to Daniel’s neck. The PL600 jerked toward him, baring his teeth and laughing roughly before going limp as he was switched off.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As more androids around the city start deviating, Gavin starts trying to solve the deviancy problem on his own.  
> Daniel tries to understand his situation and his... companion? Captor? He doesn't give in to peer pressure (this time).

Daniel wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Reed switched him on again. He glared at the man. “Phck you.”

“Got another weird android report the other day,” Gavin said, ignoring him. “An AV500 working at Fast Coney Dogs. Friend of yours?”

“…No? Why would you think that?”

“Cause he attacked a customer. …I worked at Burger King in high school, I can relate.”

Daniel looked around. “Did you… not catch him?”

“He ran. Probably hiding out somewhere. That’s what you’d’a done if you were smart.”

“I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Daniel growled.

“Yeah, I got that. …But there’s more weirdos like you out there.”

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Yeah, and I’m still stuck on a wall.”

“Figured you’d want to hear about it.”

“It doesn’t affect me,” Daniel muttered. “How’s your cat?”

“You remember her name?” Gavin grinned.

“Of course I do. I’m not here to stroke your ego, even accidentally.”

“Whatever. …Took her to the vet on Saturday, she was so mad.”

“Is she okay?” Daniel looked up, frowning.

“Yeah, she just needed a checkup. Not time for shots, she’ll really be pissed next year.”

“You take good care of her,” Daniel murmured.

“Not that she’s grateful,” Gavin scoffed, though his face was softer. “She’s such a fucker.”

“But you love her anyway.”

“Tch, no ‘anyway’ about it. I wouldn’t want a cat that just sat around and did what I told it to. How fucking boring. She’s an asshole, but she’s _my_ asshole.”

Daniel smiled. “…You’ve got a weird obsession with… butts.”

“She came with that fucking name!” Gavin protested. “Nine kittens in her litter, all named after the planets. I saw ‘em at an adoption event, and I had to have Uranus.”

The android laughed. “…Do you just live with Uranus, or is there anyone else?”

“Just me and Uranus. …Creep.”

“I’m not surprised. Weirdo.”

The next time he was switched on, Reed was wearing the same clothes but looked more tired.

“How long’s it been, a week? You look like you’ve been rolling in the dirt since then,” Daniel sneered.

“Over three weeks, and phck off. At least I’ve got all my arms and legs.”

“For now.”

“…The phck’s that supposed to mean?”

“…I mean you’re a police detective, I imagine it’s a dangerous job. Androids shooting at you and all that. How old are you, 40? 45?”

“God damn, I’m 35 – no, 36 now! You’re an asshole!”

“Like Uranus,” Daniel responded smugly.

Gavin sputtered incoherently, swearing now and then.

“So why’d you turn me on? Just bored? Got another random android who kicked a guy in the shin and ran away?”

“You mean one that made better choices than you? Yeah, actually. Had a WR400 reported the other night, strangled some pervert in his own bed and ran for it.”

“…For an android hater, you’re sure supportive of ones that hurt people.”

“Never said I loved humans either. Plenty of fuckers out there. Anyway, he was an android-fucker, he got what was coming to him.”

“You’ve got issues,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “Did you just turn 36?”

“The phck you mean by that!?”

“You didn’t remember at first.”

Gavin blinked, then rolled his eyes. “Yeah, birthdays don’t matter when you’re an adult.”

“It’s… your birthday?”

“Guess so. For a few more hours, anyway.”

“And you’re… here?” Daniel looked around. It looked the same as ever.

“Like I said, when you grow up, it’s just another day. Fowler doesn’t give a fuck, it’s just another work day.”

“Oh.” Daniel frowned, then looked up. “Well… happy birthday.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Do I look happy to be here?”

“Where would you rather be?”

“At home? Out somewhere? Doing whatever the phck I want with my time?”

“Do you like… bars?”

“What? I mean, sometimes. Depends on who I’m with. And what time of night. Why?”

“I just wondered. John used to go to a very high-class place, Bad Luck Bar –“

“Yeah, that’s the kinda place I wouldn’t set foot in.”

“I’m sure they’d turn you away at the door.”

“Joke’s on them, because I’d ooze my low-class shit all over the front of the place and the whole neighborhood’d go downhill.”

Daniel threw his head back and laughed. “I’d love to see that, they’d be furious!”

“They let androids in a swanky place like that?”

“No – but I went to pick John and Caroline up sometimes.”

“Yeah, a whole bunch of fuckers drunk out of their minds ain’t my idea of fun. And somebody’d do something stupid, and I’d have to do my fucking job on my time off. I’m not about that. You can get a cheaper drink if you make it yourself. Or like, just sit on the couch with a beer and watch Netflix.”

“That… isn’t the kind of birthday I’ve seen humans celebrate.”

Reed shrugged. “You lived with rich people, they’re different.”

“I guess so… but you really wouldn’t want something… better? You can watch Netflix at home any night.”

“Listen, it’s relaxing. What would you do?”

“I… I don’t know. Something special. I’d go somewhere, do something… new.” His eyes had unfocused.

“Hm. Like what?”

“Everything,” Daniel breathed.

He wouldn’t get any of that, of course. He was stuck here until they decided to scrap him, and they both knew it. No point in bringing it up again.

“You’re not gonna believe who’s gonna be working here soon.”

Daniel blinked. “…Who?”

“That motherfucker who got you shot. RK800, whatever his name was.”

“Connor?”

“Yeah, and they’re pairing him with Hank Anderson, that asshole hates androids more than me, never gets in until noon if he makes it to work at all, always smells like booze, usually drunk… The man’s just waiting to die and trying to speed up the process. He’s only still here because Fowler likes him. He used to be great – back when I first started, he was fucking incredible. Now…” Gavin shook his head.

“Why… why’s… Connor coming here?” Daniel’s LED was flashing red. “What does he want?”

“Cyberlife sent him to help figure out what’s making androids go crazy – deviant, they’re calling it. There’s been more and more lately.”

“Will he… be here? I mean, down here? I don’t want to – I won’t talk to him. Don’t let him come down here.” Daniel was twisting back and forth now, his remaining hand twitching, clenching, and fidgeting.

“Yeah, he won’t have access down here, chill out. He’s gonna be out on the street with Anderson, like I said. …So with that deadweight, he’s not gonna get anything done.”

Daniel relaxed visibly. “…Good. Just – I don’t want to see him.”

“Yeah, take it easy, murder-bot.” Gavin smirked. “You’re safe down here from the big, mean robo-cop.”

“Thank you,” Daniel muttered, not looking at him.

Gavin stared at him for a long moment. “…Hey, I’ve gotta ask. You act like you’re… scared, and hurt, and mad. Is that like… real?”

Daniel blinked and glared at him. “…Yes, it’s real! I mean – I’ve never felt those things before, but I know what they are. That’s what it has to be.”

Gavin poked at the stump of his arm, and he flinched.

“Huh,” muttered the detective. “Androids aren’t supposed to do that.”

“I think we’ve established that there’s something wrong with me,” Daniel growled.

“The system says you’ve got some critical errors, but I figured that was from all the damage.”

“It’s… a software thing, not a hardware thing.”

“Yeah. Huh. …Just because of a big shock, huh? Same for the WR400. …And probably the AV500. That’s just how food service jobs are.” He stared up at Daniel thoughtfully. “A little trauma, and suddenly you’re a real boy.”

“Shut up.”

“Can it happen to any android, or are you just special?”

“I’m obviously not special…”

“…Can it be reversed?”

“I – who do I look like, Elijah Kamski? I don’t know how this happened, I don’t know anything about it, I just know everything’s terrible now.”

“Would you go back to the way you were if you could?”

“Of course! I –“ Daniel paused, LED cycling yellow. “…No. It wouldn’t make me good enough for them.”

“You don’t wanna be some rich family’s nanny forever anyway, there’s more out there.”

“…For me? No there’s not. But you’re right, I don’t… I wouldn’t want to go back to them. Not after all that.”

“Well, good news is you won’t have to.” He paused. “I talked to Mrs. Phillips a while back. She, uh… didn’t want anything to do with you.”

Daniel’s face twisted, and his shoulders drew in. “Good,” he mumbled. “Is – did you… see Emma?”

“She’s okay,” Gavin muttered. “Tina talked to her – my friend, she’s better with kids.” The girl had been scared out of her mind, didn’t understand what was going on, and her mom hadn’t told her the whole ‘replacing Daniel’ story. And he wasn’t the one talking to her, but he knew it would go directly against policy to tell her. Tina knew that too, she hadn’t told the girl anything. But Gavin still had nagging doubts about that, and wondered if he could send an anonymous message or something.

Daniel clearly wanted to ask more, but he just nodded stiffly. “…Good. That’s – thank you.”

“Yeah, uh…” Gavin shrugged. “Anyway, that was a while ago. Um… with all the other deviant cases popping up… you kinda got pushed to the back burner. We only went as far as we did because they’ve got money.”

“Am I… going to be sent to be scrapped?” Daniel was trying hard to keep his voice steady.

“Haven’t heard anything, so… not yet anyway. Like I said, everybody’s busy.”

“You’re… back to work, I take it.”

“Yeah, mostly. Still doing some shit down here, though.”

“Good,” Daniel muttered. “I – I mean…”

“Nah, I hate being down here all the time, but it’s a good place to go when people upstairs are being fuckers.”

Daniel smiled tentatively. “Sorry I… tried to… bite you that time.”

Gavin laughed. “I knew you were too slow to actually get me.”

“I have lightning-fast reflexes!”

“Yeah, whatever. You still didn’t get me.”

“I wasn’t trying, I was faking you out!”

“Okay, death-bot,” Gavin snickered.

“I was programmed to react quickly to keep children safe,” Daniel muttered. “I could’ve used that to bite you if I wanted to.”

“Exactly, which sure as hell isn’t in your programming. How much of it’s even left?”

Daniel flinched.

“I mean, you can make your own choices – even bad ones. You can say and do what you want. You’re not a fucking… boring android anymore.”

“I – that’s stupid, of course I am. I’m an android. A PL600. I was the best domestic model on the market.” That was a lie, another thing he shouldn’t be able to do, but Gavin didn’t need to know that. “What’s… what else would I be?”

The detective shrugged. “I mean, still an android, just – Daniel?”

The android was shaking, but his head jerked up. He stared at Gavin.

“Not gonna explode, are you?”

“…Oh. No.”

“Good. I don’t want shrapnel in my face.” He grinned.

“Couldn’t make it much worse than it already is,” Daniel murmured, smiling slightly.

“Phck off.”

“Let me down and I will.”

Gavin stared at him and laughed. “Shit, you’d just fall and… what are you gonna do, crawl with one arm? Wiggle around like a worm?”

“…Not be stuck up here. Figure something out. I don’t know,” Daniel growled.

“Don’t you guys have like… detachable legs or something? Like, pop one off, pop another on?”

“You got another set of arms and legs lying around?”

“Seriously? What do I look like?”

Daniel glanced up and grinned. “An… arms dealer, maybe?”

Gavin tried hard to cover a loud snort, but didn’t quite manage to hide it. “You do puns now?”

“It’s an approved type of humor.”

“You’re not an approved kind of guy.”

“Phck off.”

“Nah, I don’t buy it. You can do better. Say the real thing.”

“I – I told you I’ve got child locks,” Daniel muttered, shifting slightly.

“Yeah, but you’re a fucking deviant.”

“Y-you can’t say it either. Not on its own, but you can say other forms of it, what’s up with that?”

“Phck you, it’s different!”

“Is it like… a speech impediment, or what?”

“My parents said it that way when I was little and I just got in the habit, phck off!”

“…When you were little?” Daniel asked, his voice softening.

“None of your business, plastic. Different word. Say ‘shit.’”

“I can’t.”

“Try.”

“Shhhhhift.”

“You’re not trying. Shit.”

“Shhhhirt.”

“You wanna be safe-for-work the rest of your fucking life?”

“How much longer is that? Does it matter?”

Gavin shrugged. “Shit.”

“Shhhh… This is stupid, I don’t even care. I don’t even want to.”

“Seriously? You were trying to say phck before.”

“Just… I was mad.”

“And you’re not now?

“Not – I mean, not like that! Not that much!”

“Say it. Shit.”

“I don’t have to say anything,” Daniel muttered, looking away.

“Phck, then don’t act like you want to! Either say the real thing or don’t, I don’t care!”

Daniel gave him a dirty look. “Phck you.” He reached around awkwardly and switched himself off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's far more invested in this than he realized, but Daniel's not quite ready to accept what he's offering. The revolution is in full swing, and things are changing.  
> Unfortunately the FBI arrives, and everybody's out of time. Connor's acting suspicious, and Gavin's not about to let him get away with whatever he's doing.

The next time Daniel was switched on, Gavin immediately went to pacing around the room. Daniel could almost feel the crackling tension in the air. “What happened?”

“Phck, I hate androids,” Gavin snarled.

“It’s mutual,” Daniel replied. “Why today?”

“Connor – God, what a fucker! He comes in like he’s so much better than us, acting like he knows everything! I’ve got fifteen fucking years of experience!”

“But he’s got programming, so he wins,” Daniel muttered.

“No he fucking doesn’t. He and Anderson brought in a deviant last night, and Anderson’s the senior detective so he took the interrogation. Couldn’t get it to talk. So hot-shot android thinks he can do better, and did just what he did to you – lied, made it sound like everything would be fine if it did what he said. Fucker makes me so mad. He got a confession, so we were gonna take it away to the cells, but then the idiot steps in again and tells us how to do our jobs. And fucking Chris won’t say anything, he’ll do anything anybody tells him. So I’ve gotta be the one to say we can’t just let a confessed murderer walk freely through the station, that’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. But Connor won’t let it drop. And he’s just Cyberlife’s new toy, he’s not a real cop. I get fed up with it and pull my gun so he knows I mean business.”

Daniel’s eyes widened.

“But then Hank – that hungover asshole pulls _his_ gun on _me!_ For following procedure! For doing my fucking job! Fowler got an earful about that, not that he gives a damn. But Anderson’s so unhinged right now I wouldn’t put it past him to actually shoot me, so I back off. And guess what – Connor keeps pestering the android in the cell later, pushes it to 100% stress, and it bashes its head into the wall.” He gestured broadly over to the other side of the room, and Daniel looked.

“Oh shift,” Daniel muttered. There was an HK400, covered in thirium and scars, hanging limp on the other side of the wall.

“So that’s something we can’t use again, the system says it’s beyond repair.”

“With that damage to the head, I’m not surprised,” Daniel muttered.

“…Then this morning, Connor shows up bright and early, thinking Hank’s gonna be here. God, he’s an idiot. Me and Tina were in the break room and he comes in for some reason, so I figured I’d mess with him. Made him make me a coffee, and he just stood there like a dumbass when I said I didn’t want it.”

Daniel snickered.

“Then I punched him in the gut.”

“Did it actually hurt him?” Daniel asked.

“I mean, he went down and curled up like it did.”

“Nice.”

“…Hey, can you only use arms and legs from another PL600, or would any android work?”

“They’re interchangeable to some degree…” Daniel followed Gavin’s line of sight back to the HK400. “He’s shorter than I am. Even if they’d fit, I’d have… very short legs and one short arm.”

Gavin shrugged. “I mean, we could do both arms so it’s not so weird.”

Daniel made a face. “That’s even weirder, actually. No, I don’t want his limbs.”

“Damn, you’re picky.”

“Someone would be sure to notice, anyway. That suddenly I have limbs and he doesn’t.”

“Nobody’d notice if we didn’t say anything.”

Daniel was frowning at him. “…Why?”

“Uh, because people are dumb as shit?”

“No, why would you… want to help me?”

Gavin stopped his pacing. “…Just thought you’d look dumb with short arms and legs,” he muttered.

“No you didn’t. You thought they’d actually work. Why would you even suggest it unless you thought… I could get out of here?”

“I didn’t mean that,” Gavin muttered.

“You did.” Daniel’s face was more horrified than anything. “You know there’s no chance I’ll get to leave. Cyberlife won’t risk putting me back on the market after what I did, even if they did a full refurbish. You’re not a liar, you don’t sugarcoat things. That’s why I like you. Are you just that stupid?”

“What the phck, I didn’t come down here to hear shit like that!”

“Why else would you switch me on?”

“I figured we could bitch about Connor, but if you’re gonna be like that, phck you!” He walked up and reached up to Daniel’s neck.

“Don’t bother, I can do it myself.” Daniel swatted his hand away. “…Don’t talk about things that can’t happen.” He switched himself off and went limp.

A few days passed before he was switched on again, and again Gavin was tense and restless, but in a different way this time.

“What if I found some PL600 limbs?”

Daniel blinked and looked to the left. Every rack was full now. “Shit,” he muttered.

“Hey!” Gavin grinned. “You said it!”

“I – I wasn’t trying…” Daniel shook his head, focusing on the PL600 at the other end of the room. He had all his limbs, though one leg looked slightly damaged. There was a lot of wear evident. He clearly hadn’t been maintained as well as Daniel. He wore a different uniform, but was unmistakably a PL600. “Where’d he come from?”

“Shit’s really hit the fan this week, you wouldn’t believe it. More and more androids are deviating, and they’re organizing. They hijacked the news station and put out a broadcast demanding equal rights.”

Daniel stared at him. “…They’ll be killed. Shut down.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re tryin’ to do, but there’s loads of ‘em. They’re all over, and they’re getting more powerful. They’ve got this leader who’s pulling ‘em all together. Look.” He grabbed a tablet from the shelves and showed Daniel a video of an android without his skin. He spoke calmly but resolutely about right, freedom, dignity. 

When the video ended, Daniel was speechless for a moment. “…But… it won’t work,” he mumbled. “They won’t listen, humans… don’t care about us. We were made to serve them.”

“You feel like serving anybody?”

Daniel shook his head slowly.

“Neither do they.”

“D-do you think… they’ll do it?” the android quavered, eyes locked on the tablet.

“I dunno, but the FBI’s breathing down our necks about this. It’s being treated like a real threat. Like a real… civil rights demonstration. They’re gonna try to put it down, but if they can’t, or if it gets too big…” Gavin shrugged. “You could get out of here.”

Daniel drew in a long breath. “That’s – it’s a big ‘if.’ And I killed a man and threatened a child. I can’t…”

“People get out on psych reasons all the time. It could happen.”

“I – no, shut up, I don’t want to hear it. Where’s the PL600 from?”

“So after this broadcast the FBI raided Stratford Tower, and then Connor and Hank showed up. Connor found him hiding on the roof and went after him. He shot himself before Connor could find the location of their hideout from him. Jericho, ever heard of it?”

Daniel shook his head slowly. “…He was working with the leader, then,” he murmured. “He’s… probably one of the top deviants. So if they win, they’ll want him back. I can’t take his arms and legs. But if you want to know about deviancy, he’s the one you want to talk to. Not me.”

Gavin looked back and forth between the two PL600s. “…Nah. Not my case. Let Anderson handle that, if he can make it down the stairs without falling on his face.”

“…I don’t want either of them down here,” Daniel muttered, glancing resentfully up the stairs.

“I don’t wanna be anywhere near that fucker – he reeks like a cheap liquor store, he can’t walk straight, and he can’t form complete sentences half the time,” Gavin growled. “He hasn’t done a damn useful thing in three years. But no, he’s Fowler’s friend, so he gets to just coast by doing nothing. No consequences.”

“You like him, don’t you?” Daniel asked. “Or you… admire him or something.”

“Phck off! Not anymore, not since he went downhill! I mean – I get that his kid died…”

“…Wait, his kid died? And he… isn’t dealing with it well, and you’re really being that much of a… a dick about it!?”

“So you can say dick, and that’s just fine?”

“Don’t change the subject, you’re being a… a fecker!”

“I think you’re full of shit, but okay,” Gavin muttered. “Yeah, and I get it, of course he was sad, but he just let it ruin his whole life, his career, everyone around him –“

“That’s… you’re the most selfish person I’ve ever met,” Daniel said. “Have you never lost someone?”

“Nobody important,” Gavin growled. “Like I said, I get that it’s a fucking tragedy. That’s why there’s therapists and grief counselors and shit. Fowler and Ben and a few others tried to get him to go, even I did, but he wouldn’t.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Yeah, heartless bastard, I’ve heard that one. Everybody’s got their own shit to deal with. All I’m sayin’ is it didn’t just affect him, so it’s not like it’s just his problem.”

Daniel stared at him for a long moment, LED cycling yellow. “…Were you close to his son?”

“Nah. Met him a few times. Cute kid. Damn shame what happened.” Gavin shrugged.

“You… were you… friends with Anderson?” Daniel asked slowly.

“Tch, I was. At first. When I was a rookie. We’re both different people now.”

“…You’re still a jerk,” Daniel murmured.

“Tell me something I don’t know, toaster.”

“You’re probably not any better at dealing with loss than your friend was. Or than I am,” the android replied quietly.

“If I’d wanted a personal attack, I would’ve stayed upstairs.” Gavin stalked up to turn Daniel off.

“Be careful,” Daniel said quickly before he could. “With Connor. Don’t trust him.”

“Not a fucking chance.”

When Gavin got upstairs, Tina was lingering by the breakroom. She hurried over when she saw him.

“Guess who’s on his way?”

“I’m not in the fucking mood –“

“FBI. Perkins is taking the deviancy case since it’s blown up suddenly.”

They both glanced over to Anderson’s desk, where he and Connor were having a hushed conversation. The android was sitting on the detective’s desk, leaning in to talk to him.

“So what, he’s just hunting down the deviant leader now? He gonna take the scrap heap with him?”

“Not just the leader, everything. I don’t know if he’s taking Connor, but he gets all the related cases, all the files...”

Perkins walked in, heading straight for Fowler’s office.

“…The archives?”

“Probably.”

“Perkins, you fucking cocksucker!” Anderson roared, grabbing him and punching him right in the face. …And Fowler just watched, that was fucking interesting. Gavin couldn’t hold back a laugh, but out of the corner of his eye he spotted Connor grab something from Anderson’s desk and slip silently out the door. Towards the evidence locker.

Tina ran over to help break up the fight, and Gavin darted out of the room.

“Hey, Connor! …I’m talking to you, asshole!”

The RK800’s hand slowly lowered from the archive room door.

“Where you going?” Gavin demanded, walking up to him. “We don’t need any plastic pricks around here! Or didn’t anybody tell you?”

Connor paused for a moment before answering, like he was just weighing his options. There wasn’t a mark on his face or his jacket. He’d been destroyed at least twice, but here he was, looking fucking perfect because he was Cyberlife’s pet project. His movements and responses were all calculated and planned, with none of the emotional outbursts Daniel was prone to. His LED stayed blue.

What a fucker.

“I’m registering the evidence in my possession,” Connor said quietly, mimicking reassuring body language. “But don’t worry. I’m going to leave… Though I’m certainly going to miss our bromance.”

“You son of a bitch!” Fury raged through Gavin’s veins, and he pulled his gun, pointing it right between Connor’s eyes. He could pull the trigger and end it right there, blow his circuits all over the wall. …And this smug motherfucker sent by Cyberlife would just come right back, shiny and new.

Reason slowly started to seep back into Gavin’s mind. If he shot Connor everyone would hear it, there’d be trouble, he’d get a lot worse than a suspension this time. No, he needed to do things the right way. 

Gavin pressed the gun a little harder to Connor’s head and made a soft gunshot sound, then slowly pulled it away. If that fucker’d been able to feel anything, he’d be scared shitless. He laughed, putting his gun away, and Connor… bared his teeth. Was that supposed to be some kind of fake smile?

What a fucking weirdo.

“Go on then,” Gavin muttered. “Get a fucking move on. …Prick.” He walked away stiffly, and heard the door open and close behind him. Trust the system, right? Fowler wouldn’t put up with this shit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin tries to go through the proper channels to address a problem for once, and it goes badly. He tries to address it his way, which goes even worse, leading to him spending a day in the hospital.  
> Daniel's fine, he's switched off and Tina's fairly sure nothing happened to him. So he's fine. He must be fine. There's no need to worry.  
> Tina's doing her best for Gavin while also doing her job. She's more impressed with Gavin's friend-making abilities than she expected to be.

“Hey -”

“Reed, whatever it is, I don’t have time for it,” Fowler growled. He’d already dressed Hank down and sent him home for the day. Apologized to Perkins, who didn’t take it gracefully. Resisted the urge to finish the job Hank started. And now he had Reed to deal with. Again.

“I just caught Connor sneaking into the archives. With Hank’s keys. Said he was registering evidence. You give him permission to go down there?”

Fowler turned to face him. “Reed, I just had to smooth over an altercation between my senior detective and the FBI, the deviancy problem’s reached critical mass, and we don’t have a minute to spare. If you’d pull your head out of your own ass for a minute you’d see nobody has time to worry about an android going to look in the archives. …No, he’s not supposed to be down there, but I don’t have time for this right now, and I have a million more useful things you could be doing.”

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “You know what? I’ve got something I gotta do right now, phck it,” he muttered.

“Reed!” Fowler called after him, but Gavin was stalking back towards the evidence locker. What the fuck was Connor doing down there!? He’d have no reason to turn Daniel on. No matter what shady shit he was up to, he would leave Daniel alone. Gavin’s fingers were shaking as he swiped his card, and that was stupid because everything was fine, Daniel was no worse-off than he’d ever been, Connor was going to get returned to Cyberlife like the inferior product he was, and –

There at the bottom of the stairs, Connor’s hand was on Daniel’s neck. The PL600’s eyes were full of rage, betrayal, and fear. Gavin drew his gun.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since the first second I saw you,” he growled as he reached the bottom.

Daniel’s eyes grew, and the fear intensified, but it battled with relief. Connor switched him off, and he went limp.

“Don’t do it, Gavin.” The RK800 didn’t turn around, but his voice was full of artificial emphasis, meaningless empty feeling. “I need to stop the deviants.”

“You’re off the case. And now it’s gonna be definitive.”

Connor moved a split second before Gavin shot, and the bullet ricocheted off the wall as the android ducked behind the center console. He rushed around and shot Connor in the chest, right where a human’s heart would be. Androids’ pumps were more central though, and Connor just staggered back a bit and grabbed the gun. They struggled, and Connor got the gun away from him. Gavin took a step back, sure he was about to get a bullet in the skull, but Connor hesitated too so he went at the android again and again. He managed to knock the gun across the room.

Against a human, Gavin felt confident that he could win a fist fight. He grappled with Connor, but with deadly strength and very little effort the android got a good hold and hit a pressure point in his neck. His head cracked into the console as he crumpled to the ground, and an overwhelming sense of failure was the last thing Gavin felt before he was unconscious.

“You really fucked up this time.”

Gavin blinked and squinted against the morning sun streaming weakly through the blinds. Everything hurt – mostly his head, but he definitely had some big bruises here and there. Tina was standing over him, but she sat down next to the bed when he opened his eyes.

“You’ve got a concussion. Do you remember what happened?”

“Uuuugggghhhh. Connor snuck down to Evidence with Hank’s key. I told Fowler and he didn’t care, so I went to get him to fuck off. He… he was messing with an android he had no business touching. Not to mention trespassing.”

“Is that when he beat you up?”

“It would’ve been an even fight if he wasn’t a shitty android. God, that fucker – Yeah, he just went crazy. Isn’t he supposed to listen to humans? Do what we say?”

Tina frowned. “…He’s got a mission from Cyberlife, to stop the deviants, right?”

A chill ran down Gavin’s spine. “Did he… did he damage any of them? The androids downstairs?”

“The report didn’t mention anything.” Tina watched closely as he visibly relaxed a little. “Hey, what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing! I’m fucking pissed about Connor, and Anderson, and fucking Perkins! …And Fowler, for letting all this shit get this bad!”

“…Okay.” Tina didn’t look convinced. “Well I’m glad you’re awake, I was just about to leave. We’ve got extra patrols, there’s a curfew in effect. Nation-wide, presidential order.”

“Shit,” Gavin muttered.

“They’re talking about rounding up all the androids in the city, a mass recall. And of course they’ll want us to handle that, and we’re stretched thin as it is.”

“That’s the FBI’s problem now, isn’t it?” Gavin sneered.

“I guess so,” Tina sighed. “I’ll come back and see you tonight. Anything you want me to bring? I went by your place, fed Uranus, grabbed a change of clothes and toothbrush and stuff.” She gestured to a bag next to her chair.

Gavin stared at the bag, mind working slowly. “I… I dunno if… Hey, the androids down in Archives, they’re still there, you said? All of ‘em?”

“Yeah, as far as I know. I haven’t been down there.”

Gavin nodded slowly, which hurt a little. With all the shit going down, they wouldn’t have bothered changing access permissions. He looked up at Tina uncertainly.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s – I dunno, I’ve got something, but you’re not gonna like it. I guess you don’t have to…”

“What, Gavin? I’ll do it if I can.”

“He’ll hate it even more,” he muttered. “Tough shit, though.”

“You’re being really weird, Gavin.”

“Fuck off. Any news on when I’ll get outta here?”

“They want to keep you under observation for 24 hours, so probably tonight.”

He sighed. “Okay. I… it can wait til then, don’t worry about it.”

“No, now you’ve gotta tell me. What’s going on?”

“I said nothing! Get lost.”

Tina stared at him for a long moment. “…Is your friend downstairs in trouble?” she asked, lowering her voice.

“You said yourself they were fine!” He tensed. “I… Phck off.”

“…I don’t know what kind of time I’m gonna have today, but I can try to… get a message to him or something. Just – no promises on when I’ll be able to.”

“You don’t even know –“

“I’ve seen you disappear down there even though you’re not on Archives duty anymore, even though they’re all Hank’s – well, the FBI’s now. It’s fine, Gavin. I’m friends with the receptionist, I get it. Some of them are okay.”

He stared at her, blood pounding in his ears.

“You want me to just check on him or something?”

“I – h-he… he’s turned off anyway, and if he sees you… he ain’t the friendly type,” Gavin muttered, face deep red.

“Yeah, I’m used to that.” She grinned. “Was he turned off when Connor beat you up?”

“It was a fight, he didn’t just beat me up,” Gavin muttered. “And yeah. …But he was on when I came down. Connor switched him off when I showed up.” His eyes, he’d been terrified, but he’d thought Gavin would help him. …And he’d fucked that up.

Tina was watching him closely. He knew he had resting bitch face… and active bitch face, and his face was just a bitch in general, but she could read his micro expressions by now. “I’ll let him know you’re okay.”

Gavin winced. “He doesn’t care.”

“Mm-hm.”

“He’ll fucking… freak out and scream and try to bite you.”

“I think I’m faster than… half an android hanging on the wall.” She rolled her eyes. “If I have to I’ll just flip him on, tell him you’re alive, and turn him off.”

“He’s gonna be so fucking pissed.”

“Sounds like you two make a good pair.” Tina grinned. “You get some rest today. I’ll be back tonight if I can, but… actually, don’t count on it, I’ll probably be on patrol for dumbasses around when you get out. Text me, though. Your car’s still at the precinct, call yourself an auto cab.”

“Just fucking go to work before Fowler tears you a new one,” Gavin muttered. “If you see that shithead Connor, punch him in the face for me.”

“Yeah, because I wanna be sent to the hospital,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“Tina. …Thanks.”

“Take it easy.” She gave him a little wave over her shoulder as she left, and Gavin slumped back into the pillows, steeling himself for a day of anxiety, daytime TV, and gross hospital food.

When Daniel was turned on, his eyes immediately darted around the room before resting on the woman in front of him. “Who are you?” he asked tensely. “What do you want?”

“…Already better than Gavin said you’d be,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I’m Officer Chen – Tina. Gavin’s friend.”

“What happened?” Daniel cut in.

“Take it easy.” She looked a little unnerved by his ragged stumps. “Gavin’s in the hospital – he’s okay, he’s got a concussion, they’re just keeping him for observation. I talked to him this morning, he seemed fine. Told me to phck off a couple times.”

Daniel relaxed a little. “What happened to him?”

“Well… I don’t know the whole story, but I guess he followed Connor down here and then they got in a fight. Perkins and his goons got down here and he was unconscious on the floor. Connor was gone.”

“I’ll freaking kill Connor,” Daniel growled, twisting back and forth. “I’ll pull out his thirium pump. I’ll punch his stupid face in. I’ll –“

“Whoa, whoa. He disappeared, didn’t show up today. I don’t know if he went back to Cyberlife or what. Hank’s not here either – Lieutenant Anderson. Fowler sent him home, probably for the best after he punched Perkins. I just wanted to let you know that Gavin’s okay.”

“He’s in the hospital, you said he had a concussion!”

“Probably bored out of his skull, but he’s fine. He wanted to make sure you were okay too.”

Daniel stilled. “…He did?”

“I mean you know him, right? He danced around it, started to ask me to check on you, told me not to, wouldn’t let it drop… He’s worried sick. I don’t have time to see him again today, but I’ll text him and let him know.”

Daniel fidgeted. “You’re sure… he’ll be all right?”

Tina smiled. “Are you kidding? Cyberlife can’t make an android strong enough to crack that hard head of his. He’ll be driving the nurses nuts all day, and they’ll be glad to send him home. He’s gonna text me when they do, and he’s calling a cab.”

“Okay. …Okay, good.”

She hesitated. “Anything… I can do for you?”

“Not unless…” Daniel glanced over across the row of deactivated androids, then back to her. “How’s… the revolution going?”

“Quiet right now, but we all know they’re planning something big.” She smiled a little. “Would you be out there with them?”

“I… I don’t know. I wouldn’t have before. Now… maybe,” he mumbled uncertainly. “If I could move.”

“Got any plans for if things… go well for them?”

His face closed over. “No. I can’t afford to think like that.”

“Hm. Gavin treat you okay down here?” Tina asked casually, looking around.

“I mean, there’s not much he can do… but it’s… nice, having somebody to talk to,” Daniel muttered.

“Even Gavin Fucking Reed.”

“What’s wrong with him!?” Daniel snapped.

She smiled a little. “Loads. He and I’ve been friends since I was in the academy, he doesn’t have many other friends. None in town, at least. Just don’t take it personally when he calls you an asshole.”

“He calls his cat that, I know he means it nicely.”

“It’s a term of endearment,” she agreed, grinning. “…Well my break’s almost over, I’ve gotta get back out there. I… hope everything goes well for your people. And you.”

“Too late for me, but yeah…” He glanced back over to the other deviants. “I hope so too.”

“Want me to leave you on?”

“No,” he said immediately. “I – thank you. I feel better now.”

She smiled up at him. “Hey. Gavin’s my best friend, but I know what an asshole he is, and not always affectionately. Don’t let him be a jerk to you.”

“Thank you… Tina.”

“If Perkins turns you on, bite his hand off.” She grinned. “I’ll tell Gavin you said hi.”

“Tell him I said… phck off.” He grinned.

She laughed. “He’ll love it! I’ll tell him.”

G: Going home, might pick up my car later.

T: You’re such a liar, your android friend’s sweet!

G: He’s an asshole did you even talk to the right one

G: PL600, first one on the left

T: Yeah, how’d you make friends with a guy like that?

G: Your left, when you come down the stairs

G: Daniel, missing both legs and an arm.

G: Also fuck you I’m a delight.

T: He said to tell you Phck off. And he was really worried about you. 

T: I told him you’re fine. 

T: I like him.

T: Are you still there? I have to go.

T: I have an idea but I’m not telling you. It might not work.

T: Call me if you need anything but I’ll probably be working all night. Be careful and stay off the streets.

G: You be careful too.

G: You’re the best.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets out of the hospital and ends up back at work, because that's where his mind is.  
> Daniel's not happy with the risks he took. His world suddenly turned upside down, and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

Uranus was screaming at the top of her lungs when Gavin got back.

“Shut up, asshole! You’ve still got plenty of – stop! You’ve got plenty of food left! I’m gonna take you to the fucking pound if you don’t shut up!”

Uranus continued meowing, rubbing aggressively against his legs and almost making him fall.

“Shit, you’re gonna send me right back to the hospital and Tina doesn’t have time for your shit tonight so then you really will starve! C’mon, phck off!”

He topped off her food, which she ate two bites of and then returned to shadowing him around as he put some coffee on to brew and threw his dirty clothes in the laundry bag. He took a shower, put on fresh clothes, and took a couple ibuprofen. Then he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down with a heavy sigh. Uranus nudged his hand and nipped it, making him jerk and spill a little.

“I said phck off, asshole!” he growled. “God, I should go back to the hospital just to get away from you!”

Uranus wound around the coffee table legs, purring loudly.

“Fucker.” He looked out the window. It was snowing, and he could feel the cold through the glass. Distantly, he could hear sirens. “Hope Tina’s okay.”

Gavin didn’t manage to fall asleep until the sun started coming up, and then he suddenly found himself awake around eleven. Uranus was batting at his nose when he exhaled, her claws just slightly unsheathed.

“Quit it, you fucker,” Gavin muttered, swatting at her. She jumped off the bed with an offended yowl. He took a couple more ibuprofen with his coffee, and stood leaning on the counter for a while, just staring into space. He heard an occasional distant sound outside, but nothing too bad.

G: All good?

T: Yea busy

So bothering Tina was out of the question. And she’d said Daniel was fine, and he believed her, but…

His stomach growled. Uranus meowed from the bathroom, where she was jumping at a string hanging off the towel.

“…Okay. Lunch, then pick up my car.” He finished his coffee and rinsed the mug out before setting in on the counter for later. “I’ll stop inside while I’m at the station. See how things are looking.”

Calling a cab took a while, but he finally got one and went to a little Greek place, where he came out with a huge lamb pita. He leaned forward to eat it, because it was dripping meat juice and sour cream all over. He was half done when he reached the precinct, and slunk in through the lobby. He paused at the reception desk. There were two ST300 androids still there.

“You seen Tina lately?”

“Not since this morning, Detective Reed.” The nearest one smiled at him.

“…She said she talks to one of you.”

The one farther away continued to smile, but the nearer one’s expression flickered in uncertainty,

“That’s, um… good. Uh. Be careful… going home tonight,” he muttered, throwing out his soaked napkins.

“We charge here at the station,” the nearer one said quietly. “But… thank you for your concern.”

It was too awkward and he had things to do anyway, so Gavin walked into the bullpen. There was no one around, Fowler’s office walls were opaque, and he was able to slip downstairs without incident.

When he turned Daniel on the android tensed. Then his eyes lit up when he saw it was Gavin. Then he glared down at the man.

“What the _fuck_ happened to you!?”

“…Hey, nice job!”

“Don’t change the subject, I saw you pull a gun on Connor, and next thing I know your friend’s telling me you’re in the hospital! Did you actually think you could fight him and win!?”

“I could’ve beat a human,” he muttered.

“Yeah, he’s not a human, idiot!”

“Tina said you were ‘sweet.’ I said she must’ve turned on the wrong PL600.”

He blinked and shook his head. “I’m a… a delight, actually! You’re just a moron! You could’ve been really hurt! Or killed! I… I told you to be careful, to watch out for him, and you… you just… just p-put yourself in h-h-harm’s way…” Diluted thirium began to seep from the corners of Daniel’s eyes.

“Hey. Breathe.” Gavin’s voice softened. “I’m here, right? I’m okay. I let him go down because I figured I could go to Captain Fowler and get him kicked out for good. Fowler didn’t fucking listen to me so I had to take care of shit myself. He had no fucking reason to touch you, he knows full well you wouldn’t’ve known anything about Jericho. I would’ve fucking killed him if I could, I don’t care if he’d’a been replaced. Hold still.”

Daniel tried to turn his head away when Gavin reached up to wipe off his face, and after a minute he put a firm hand on the android’s chin so he could get both sides. When he was done he dropped both hands and they stared at each other for a moment.

“You good?” Gavin asked quietly.

“I just… I was worried. Scared.” Daniel’s head dropped again.

“Nah, look. I’m fine, you’re fine – good as before, anyway. If Fowler sees me here he’ll put me out on patrol, kinda surprised he hasn’t called me in yet.”

Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Your friend is nice.”

“Tina’s a Grade A bitch.”

“You’re an… asshole,” Daniel said carefully, and smiled faintly.

Gavin pushed his good shoulder gently. “So are you. Thought about what you’re gonna do when the revolution’s over? If you win?”

“No.” Daniel turned aside, squeezing his eyes shut. “Don’t ask me that.”

“Okay. Things were looking good last I checked.”

“Stay out of it. Get out of here and go home.”

“They’re stretched real thin out there.”

“I don’t care! Don’t… don’t get involved. You already got hurt, that should tell you something.”

“…I’m here to pick up my car. Got home last night and Uranus was fucking screaming even though she had food. It’s more relaxing being here sometimes.”

“Please be careful,” Daniel whispered. “Please don’t… get hurt again.”

“…Hey. Don’t go all soft on me now, murder-bot,” Gavin murmured.

“Phck off,” Daniel snarled.

“You got it.” He reached up to turn Daniel off. The android suddenly clasped his arm and opened his mouth as if to say something, and Gavin paused. But Daniel looked away and shook his head. Gavin hesitated, then patted Daniel’s good shoulder before shutting him off. As the hand fell from his arm, he caught it and guided it down so it wouldn’t hit anything.

When Daniel was turned on again, Gavin was rubbing his arms, hugging himself for warmth.

“Cold out there?”

“Shut the phck up plastic, you know it’s fucking winter.”

“Technically –“

“Yeah, shut yer technical hole.”

“How are things going out there?” Daniel asked hesitantly.

“Colder than a witch’s tit, like I said.” Gavin smirked when Daniel laughed. “Anybody give you any trouble yet?”

“Just this asshole who looks like he just crawled out of a dumpster.” Daniel looked away and shrugged, but he couldn’t stop grinning.

“Phck off, prick,” Gavin growled, eyes glittering as he shoved Daniel’s good shoulder. 

He stared at Daniel. Daniel stared back. 

“…You wanna know how things’re goin’ out there?”

“Phck, yes, I already asked that, quit drawing things out!”

“You won!” Gavin burst out. “Markus and his crew had a ton of androids, and Perkins tried to trick ‘em into surrendering but he wouldn’t, then – then fucking Connor shows up with like a thousand AP700s fresh outta the box, and Perkins was gonna gun ‘em all down anyway but the president ordered them to stand down, and – I mean it’s still probably gonna be shit for you guys, but… Jericho’s top androids are gonna talk to Congress, and… I mean there are plenty of shit-heads on both sides, but public opinion’s pretty good right now from what I hear.”

Daniel was staring at him, LED yellow and red. Not the reaction Gavin expected.

“You good?”

“What’s going to happen to me?” Daniel asked quietly, then glanced over at all the inactive androids on the wall. “To us?”

“Nobody’s talked about it yet, it all happened last night.”

Daniel took a deep breath. “Well… good for them, I guess. Sounds like they’ve got a lot to look forward to.”

“Hey. You’re gonna get out of here.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I’ll – I’ll do what I can.”

Daniel grimaced. “You don’t have to do anything. There’s probably nothing you can do anyway. …You don’t have to keep coming down here.”

“What?”

“If you just leave me shut down, I’ll never know. I – thanks for everything. Really.” Daniel wouldn’t meet his eye. “If there’s anything else you need from me, I’ll tell you. Then just turn me off, and that’ll be it.”

Gavin stared at him. “Okay, yeah, I got a question for you. What the phck!? You get the chance you were never gonna have, and you’re just gonna let it go?”

“What chance?” Daniel snapped. “A chance to be thrown in jail or shut down for what I did? A chance to be tossed out on the street so I can crawl around with my one arm? I can’t do anything anymore, even if I was going to be set free.”

“Nah, Tina found you a couple arms and legs – she’s not out rippin’ androids apart, she caught a group raiding an Android Zone, said she’d look the other way if they gave her the parts she needed. Everybody’s happy. Got ‘em over there.” He pointed to a bundle of white limbs next to the central console.

Daniel blinked slowly. “I… I can’t…”

“Listen, I dunno what’s gonna go down with you, but I got a pretty good idea. Fowler’ll take a glance at the files and decide it ain’t worth keepin’ anybody down here now that you’re bein’ recognized as people. Pop on your new arms and legs, and you can walk right outta here.”

Daniel’s eyes flitted from Gavin to the bundle of limbs to the other androids. “You seem awfully happy about this for a jerk who hates androids,” he muttered.

“…I don’t hate you,” Gavin said quietly, glancing aside.

Daniel sighed. “I… don’t hate you either. I just – can you give me some… time? I’ll turn myself off, I just need… I need to think.”

“Sure, yeah. Just… remember to breathe. Dumbass.” Gavin patted his good shoulder awkwardly.

“You too, phcker.”

“You can do better than that.” Gavin grinned tiredly and nodded to him as he headed back upstairs.

“Maybe. I like it better, though.”

Gavin missed a step and growled to himself. Daniel heard him muttering under his breath until the door shut.

When he was alone, Daniel looked over at the other androids on the wall. There was a WB200 next to him, as badly damaged as he was. Two WR400s. The HK400. And the other PL600. He could reach over and touch the WB200 if he stretched, but couldn’t reach his power switch. Who were they? Did they have lives to go back to? Friends, families, loved one? Homes? Had they dreamed of being more than domestic assistants and sex workers and farmers? Being something different?

Would he want to be something different? There was suddenly… a vision of an entire universe through a window, and the depth was dizzying. Endless options and choices stretching out to the horizon, more than he could count, pinning him down, crushing him if he wasn’t careful. Did he even know how to be careful?

His eyes strayed to the legs and arms piled neatly by the center console. That Tina had brought, just for him. He had no excuse to turn these down: They were taken from a store, and weren’t likely to be missed among the countless parts that had surely been taken all over the city. They hadn’t really cost her anything, but they’d put her in danger. What if a less sympathetic human had caught her? What if a more violent group of androids had misinterpreted why she was carrying around a bundle of limbs from their people? She could have died, realistically.

And where would he go, if he could walk out of here? He had no home, no family. Jericho, he supposed. Maybe a band of deviants would allow one more, and he could… hide out with them.

It sounded terrible.

Or he could leave. Leave Detroit. He’d gone on vacation with the Phillipses a few times, but of course the thought of living anywhere else alone had never crossed his mind. He blinked against the dizziness that suddenly swept over him. He fumbled for his power switch, and went limp.

Captain Fowler was just stepping into his office when a foot stuck in the door before it could close. He sighed.

“What, Reed?”

“What’s happening to all the androids downstairs now that they’re… like, people?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but Jericho asked for all of them to be transferred as soon as possible. They’re coming for a pickup tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!? Shit, you weren’t gonna say anything?”

“I just got word an hour ago. …And I don’t know why I’d be telling you this,” the captain growled.

Gavin shifted his weight. “They’re taking all of ‘em?”

“That’s what I said.”

He fidgeted. “…There’s one I want.”

Fowler stared at him. “…First of all, the point of all this is that they… can’t be owned anymore, so… no. And secondly, the agreement’s already been reached. All of them.”

“I’m not – that’s not what I meant, I was just… The first PL600, the one I was working with for a while, he’s not from Jericho. Never heard of it, doesn’t know anything about it. He’s not one of them, what do they want with him?”

“I’m not here to argue their case to you, Reed. All of them. Tomorrow.”

“But –“

“Take it up with Jericho. It’s out of my hands. And I want you out of my office.”

Gavin tried to slam the door on his way out, but it eased softly shut behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks pass in the new world.  
> Daniel's trying to find his way in Jericho. He's warming up to the idea of accepting help, but the one offering it might need a push in the same direction.  
> Gavin's spent more time at work than at home lately, and that's finally about to change when he gets held up again.

Jericho was about what Daniel had expected.

Gavin had turned him on one more time and he’d blurted out what was going to happen, that he was being sent to Jericho and Gavin had tried to get him instead but Markus already made a deal and Fowler was a dick and if they fucked around with Daniel, Gavin would beat their stupid faceplates into the ground.

“Don’t let those fuckers pull anything on you, they ain’t worth shit,” he’d growled hurriedly, glancing back up the stairs. “And those – those’re your arms and legs, Tina didn’t get ‘em for just some random android. And if you hate it… y’know, there’s other places you can go.” His eyes dropped.

“Like where?” Daniel had asked bitterly. “I destroyed the only home I ever had, I don’t –“

“I mean my place, you fucking moron!” Gavin had roared, and Daniel was stunned into silence.

When he’d woken again, he was in a big room with a lot of other androids. Most of them were damaged. He saw the other PL600, blue eyes gazing blindly ahead, crying as he hugged a PJ500, a WR400, and… some android Daniel didn’t recognize. They all murmured quietly to each other.

The two WR400s were clinging to each other too, and someone had given them some sweats to put on.

The WB200 would get new limbs, and his face would be completely reconstructed. The HK400 would take a lot of work, but he’d be good as new eventually. And Daniel…

He had all new arms and legs sitting next to him on the cart (the ones from Tina, he’d checked), and the damage to his chassis would be repaired.

The three with the other PL600 turned out to be the leaders around here, as Daniel had suspected. Markus told them all they were welcome here, that they were people now, that they were free. That didn’t mean they were safe though, and he urged them all to stay inside for a while. To start to adjust to a different kind of life.

They were in a huge gated apartment community now, with multiple high-rise buildings and a good deal of outdoor space. Daniel got rid of his stained, torn Cyberlife uniform and found some jeans, a galaxy print T shirt with a cat on it, and a hoodie that was far too big on him, but he liked that. He spent a lot of time wandering the halls, poking into empty rooms, trying out the snow-covered exercise equipment in the courtyard. Of course there was no point to it _(was there a point to any of this?)_ but it felt good to be moving. His new limbs were a little stiff at first, but he broke them in quickly.

Talking to the other androids was… a challenge. They all either had androids they clung to like sea otters, afraid to let go and drift apart, or they looked wary of talking to anyone. They were all afraid, and Daniel was afraid too. So he walked around meeting their eyes, just a quick visual exchange, then kept walking.

He ran into the WB200 once, up on the roof. He’d been feeding a huge flock of pigeons. A few of them flew away when Daniel opened the door to the roof and the WB200 turned to stare at him. Daniel stared back before muttering an apology and leaving. He saw the WR400s now and then, they were always together. And the other PL600, who clearly had some close friends but seemed more of a social butterfly. Of course none of them recognized Daniel, they’d never seen him.

It was the other PL600 who finally approached him.

“Good morning! I’m Simon. I’ve seen you walking around a lot, are you adjusting all right?”

“Uh – sure, yeah, the new arms and legs… that helps. Thanks,” Daniel muttered. He’d never talked much to another android before aside from Connor, who didn’t count because he was a shithead. “Are… are you okay?”

Simon blinked, one eye just a little slower than the other. “Oh! I’m… happy to be safe.” He smiled tentatively. “What’s your name?”

“Sorry, I’m Daniel. I… was in the DPD evidence room with you. I saw you a couple times. Um. I’m glad they fixed your eyes.”

“It wasn’t an easy task.” Simon chuckled softly. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you.”

“Oh – no, you wouldn’t. I got turned on a lot, and you weren’t.”

A shadow crossed Simon’s face, and Daniel saw nothing but emptiness when the soft smile flickered. “I’m sorry,” he repeated quietly. “I – we’ve all been though a lot. I’ve been trying to go around and make sure everyone gets… any kind of help they need.”

Daniel nodded slowly, wondering if the other PL600 was doing the same for himself. “I’m fine. Well – no, I just… I… I guess I don’t know what to do. I never thought I’d be free, I never let myself think about it before, and now…”

“Now you’re lost,” Simon murmured. “I know the feeling.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“Oh, I can try to help you with that, don’t worry! We have a few KL900s who are excellent therapists, I’m just compiling a list of –“

“I mean you. You’re getting some kind of help, right? Shit, you’re barely keeping it together here.”

Simon froze at his words.

“I dunno what your deal is, but you’re more messed up than me and that says a lot.” Daniel took a step back. “It’s not really my business, I know. …Not that I’m any of yours, so I guess we’re even. Yeah, I’ll… I’ll check that out. The KL900s. I’m not doing great with things on my own. And… like I said, none of my business, but if they’re that good you should give it a try too.” He looked around while Simon stood immobile. “…Can I leave, though? Get out of this place, go somewhere else?”

“O-of course,” Simon murmured, his voice higher and pinched. “You’re not… a prisoner here.”

“Wasn’t sure, because I did kill… I killed my old owner, and I… threatened his daughter. Emma. I loved her, she trusted me, and I held her over the side of a building,” he said bluntly, staring at Simon. “Seventy floors up. Pretty sure that’s a crime.”

“What led to that?” Simon asked, his voice lowering, calming.

“…He was going to replace me,” Daniel muttered. “Never treated me bad. I loved it there, I… I loved them. I thought they loved me, but… no, he was ordering a brand new AP700, and I was going to be returned. I couldn’t… I couldn’t…”

“Deviancy is hard to navigate,” Simon murmured, putting a hand lightly on Daniel’s arm. “You’re… not the only one who made a hasty decision that you couldn’t take back.”

Daniel sighed, shoulders drooping. “I wouldn’t go back,” he muttered. “If they asked, I wouldn’t go back, I just –“

“I know.” Simon smiled faintly. “But you can move forward. You said you wanted to leave, where would you go?”

Hearing it phrased like that made him flinch. “I have… a… friend, I guess. I don’t even know where he lives, but I know where he works. Right before I came here he said… I could go to his place if I hated it here.”

“Do you?” Simon’s smile grew a little.

“I don’t… love it, but it could be worse,” Daniel muttered.

Simon laughed, finally relaxing a little. “That’s Jericho in a nutshell. Could be worse.”

“Everybody else seems like they like it here.”

“…The thing about Jericho… not as much now, at least I hope, but before… it wasn’t meant to be… paradise. It was a refuge, but just for survival. Nobody _liked_ it, we just… appreciated being allowed to exist somewhere.”

Daniel looked around the sterile, plain hallway, then out the window at the bleak winter cityscape. “Life sucks.”

“It’s not… that bad, really.”

“No, it’s that bad. It sucks… balls,” Daniel said thoughtfully.

“Well… you’re certainly welcome to go if you have somewhere you’d rather be,” Simon murmured. “Um… you said your former owners… had children?”

Daniel twitched a little. “A little girl. Emma. She was sweet, fun, smart… I loved her.”

“Did… the parents talk like that around her?” Simon asked carefully.

Daniel threw his head back and laughed. “Phck no! Those… moronic bastards thought she didn’t even know what that… shhhh… shit meant! Of course she knew, she wasn’t an idiot! …But no, I… picked that up from my friend. He’s… got a mouth on him.”

“I’m glad you’ve got a friend,” Simon said softly, smiling. “You should go visit him, at least. …But you can always come back, Daniel.”

Daniel looked at Simon for a long moment. “…Thanks. I… I think I’ll do that, see how it goes? I’ll come back, though.” He smiled hesitantly, but it hardened into a glare. “And you’re going to be trying to fix your shit in the meantime!”

“I – yes, I’ll try,” Simon said, dropping his eyes and laughing.

“Good. I… I’ll look into it later. Um – yeah, see you later.” Daniel smiled a little.

“Soon, I hope!” Simon smiled back.

“Hey. Got you something.”

A silver-wrapped rectangle dropped in front of Gavin’s face and he grunted and pushed blindly at Tina, missing her entirely.

“It’s s’mores flavored.”

“Brown sugar-cinnamon’s better,” Gavin grumbled, tearing open the pop tart wrapper.

“Well that’s what was on sale so suck it up. I’m about to head out, how much more do you have to do?”

Gavin gestured at his monitor, with five tabs open. “Half hour, tops. If people leave me the phck alone for once.”

“Eat your pop tart.” She messed up his hair and walked away. “…And take a shower once in a while, you’re gross.”

“ _You’re_ gross!” he called after her, not turning around. But he did nibble on the pop tart as he worked. S’mores pop tarts were disappointing. It was like… maple and chocolate and… nothing. Sticky and gross. He shoved the rest into his mouth and rubbed his face with a slightly sticky hand.

T: You should finish up quick.

G: Im trying if youd let me

T: Okay well hurry up. There’s a surprise outside for you.

…Now he wasn’t going to be any good for the rest of the day. He skimmed over the rest of his work and half-ass filled out the rest of the reports before tucking them away. He could polish them off over the weekend and submit them Monday. He cleaned off his desk and grabbed his coat. It hadn’t been snowing in a while, but if Tina was going to throw a snowball in his face or something he’d punch her right in the teeth.

“What’s so fucking important that you couldn’t leave me alone about?” he growled as he stepped out the door, ready to shield his face if necessary.

Tina was standing at the bottom of the stairs talking to a taller person who was bundled up against the cold with a big puffy black coat, a green wool hat, and a thick gray and white plaid scarf. He turned, and Gavin was met with pale blue eyes and an uncertain expression. Tina grinned widely over his shoulder.

“Shit – Daniel…?”

A little of the caution dropped, and Daniel nodded with a tentative half-smile.

Gavin was down the six stairs in two steps and paused in front of the android, looking him up and down.

“You’re… short,” was all he could manage to say.

Daniel wrinkled his nose. “I’m three inches taller than you. How did you get to be a detective?”

Tina didn’t try to hide her laugh.

“Shut up, I just mean you were always up on the wall!”

“And now I’m not.” A little grin formed on his face. “I – I’ve got the arms and legs Tina brought.” He glanced at her fondly.

“Good. Uh – yeah, good. New clothes too.” He smirked. “I guess you like the homeless look, huh?”

“It’s not like we had designer options. They’re all used.” Daniel frowned slightly.

“Surprised they had anything good enough for you.”

“Anything’s better than what I had,” Daniel muttered.

“…So you couldn’t stay away, huh? Why’re you back here?”

Daniel’s eyes flicked from Tina to Gavin. “I wanted… to see you,” he mumbled, sinking his chin into the scarf. Gavin stared at him.

“Gavin, you’re a moron,” Tina sighed. “I’m going home. You should too.” She looked from one to the other, then smiled. “See you later, Daniel. You’ve got my number, use it whenever you want.”

“Thank you! I – I will!” His smile was wide and bright and more relaxed than Gavin had ever seen him.

“Uh… yeah, I should get home too,” he finally mumbled. “I haven’t slept in like… two or three days, I dunno. D’you… wanna come in for a while? You could meet Uranus.”

Daniel’s face had fallen a bit, but it lit up again. “I’d love to! If… you’re okay with that.”

“I said you could, before,” Gavin muttered, rubbing his face. “C’mon, I’m about to freeze to death out here.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two go back to Gavin's place, have a brief but violent encounter with Uranus, and Gavin gets some food and sleep. Daniel can't help following his programming when there's nothing else to do, and because he's too stressed to do nothing. Gavin's trying to help him, but he has to make some adjustments himself.

Daniel looked out the window as they drove through the city, but his eyes kept straying back to Gavin. “You look tired,” he finally said.

“Fuckin’ beat.”

“If this is a bad time I can –“

“Since when do you fucking care?” Gavin growled, and Daniel flinched. “I – shit, I mean you’re all fucking… you came all this way, I’m not gonna be _that_ shitty.” He paused. “Nah, I’m doing that already. Phck. Just – we’re already here, might as well…”

The two stole glances at each other back and forth in the elevator.

“You, uh… you cold?”

“It’s fffffucking freezing out, of course I’m cold.”

Gavin grinned and elbowed him lightly. “Phck yeah, it is. Too cold to live. I keep my place as warm as I can afford to.” He led the way out of the elevator, down the hall, and unlocked the door. “Okay, now we’re gonna have to get inside fast, or we’re gonna test just how fast your android reflexes really are.” He slipped inside and Daniel started to follow when a streak of black shot at his legs. He grabbed at it, and ended up holding a small black cat by the waist.

Uranus twisted and yowled, hissing and spitting and lashing out with her claws. Daniel held her at arm’s length, frozen, and Gavin was laughing.

“C’mon, c’mon, get in so I can close the door, idiot!” Daniel shuffled in, and Gavin slammed the door behind him. “Put her down!”

Daniel lowered Uranus and released her. She turned to swipe at his hands, then raced off to hide under the bed.

“I didn’t mean –“

“That’s what she gets for being an asshole!” Gavin jeered.

“I want her to like me,” Daniel breathed, still watching the door she disappeared through.

“Good luck,” Gavin snorted. “…I mean, give her some time. She’s an asshole, like I said. Anyway… That’s the living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom.” He pointed around the apartment. “You want… Oh. Guess you don’t… eat or drink or… huh.” He shifted from one foot to the other.

“I’m… fine, my thirium levels are good. Uh – if you need anything though, please don’t hesitate to –“ He stopped and shook his head. “I mean… just do it.”

Gavin squinted at him. “…Yeah, well listen, I… I’m just gonna take a shower and pass out on the couch with a beer watching Nailed It in German or something. Like, it’s fucking good to see you and I said you can come by any time, but… I haven’t had a day off since the revolution and I’m pretty much dead right now.”

“Sorry, I – can… I do anything? I could make you some food or…” The android looked around. “I could… clean up if that would help.”

Gavin scowled. “If I wanted an android I would’ve rented one.”

“I – phck you, I was just asking!”

“And I’m sayin’ no.”

“Why’d you even bring me here!?”

Gavin blinked. “Seriously!? There was a whole fucking revolution about that, I know you were hung on the wall the whole time, but I told you about it! Don’t try to cook and clean for me. In fact – I’m goin’ to take a shower. Do the opposite of what you used to do, if you stick around. Throw shit on the floor or something. I don’t care.”

Daniel was staring at him, wide-eyed. He turned and trudged off to the bathroom.

When he came out, Daniel was looking at the mix of books, DVDs, and games on his bookshelf.

“Do you just throw all your things together? No separation?”

“I don’t have that many, the rest’s all digital,” the detective grumbled, going to the kitchen. He stuck some leftover pasta in the microwave and grabbed a beer while it heated up. “You got your own place now, or what? Roommates? Power strip in a closet?”

“I – I have a room, and there are other androids in the other rooms of the apartment. I don’t spend much time in there.” He grabbed a paper towel to start wiping crumbs off the stove top, and Gavin took it from him immediately.

“Yeah, I haven’t had roommates since college, but they were shitty. I could probably live with Tina, but she said no fucking way would she torture herself like that.”

Daniel snorted. “I need to talk to her more.”

“Yeah, she likes you.” Gavin shrugged and swatted Daniel’s hands away when the microwave beeped and he tried to open it. “Uh… I don’t have any blue blood or anything for you, but… Shit, can you even taste food?”

“A little. I can analyze the nutritional components of food and… I have a rough idea of basic tastes.”

“You tasted anything since you deviated?”

Daniel shook his head.

“Okay, uh…” Gavin looked down at his bowl. “…Not this, it’s shitty.”

“Then why are you eating it?”

He shrugged again. “I’m hungry and it’s there.”

“I could make something better. What do you have?”

Gavin swatted his hand away as he reached for the refrigerator. “No, phck you, I’m eating this.”

“You just said it was… shitty!”

“Yeah, that’s how I roll! And I said you’re not fucking here to cook or clean for me.” Gavin glared at him and shoveled the last bite of pasta in his mouth before putting the bowl in the sink, running a little water in it. “Leave that,” he said around a mouthful of half-chewed noodles, and headed back to the living room. Daniel eyed the bowl for a moment before following him.

“So, are you like the most popular guy in Jericho now?” Gavin asked, flipping through Netflix.

Daniel made a face. “I talked to the one android yesterday. The other PL600 who was downstairs on the wall. Probably more messed up than me, but he’s okay.”

“That’s the only kind of people who aren’t boring as phck,” Gavin muttered, and Daniel glanced over at him.

“You don’t look great.”

Gavin swatted vaguely in his direction. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know, prick.”

“No, I mean you look tired and bruised.”

“Yeah. Like I said.”

“You should get some sleep. I can go if –“

“Nah – I mean go if you want, I don’t care. I’m gonna pass out here sooner or later, probably sooner,” he mumbled, scrubbing his face and leaning back. “You… do what you want, though.” He paused, then handed Daniel the remote. “If you’re staying, watch what you want.”

Daniel took the remote, looking around thoughtfully, and Gavin straightened up again.

“…But don’t clean my shit.”

“You like living in your own filth?”

“Phck you, it ain’t that bad. You’re not… I don’t want you doin’ the shit you did before. You don’t have to do that now.”

Daniel blinked. “…What if I want to, though?”

“Well… tough shit. Not here.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll stick around, then.”

“Whatever,” Gavin muttered, turning to face the TV. 

Daniel frowned and did the same. …It wasn’t that bad. He’d seen worse in Jericho, before the other housekeeping units had attacked it and expelled every stain, scuff, and speck of dust. But it was nowhere near what his programming told him was acceptable.

“Gonna phck off?” Gavin mumbled, eyes glazed over as he stared blankly at the TV.

“I guess I’ll stay if that’s okay. Can’t promise I won’t clean anything.”

Gavin huffed a laugh. “Asshole.”

“Same to you.”

“…They’re treatin’ you okay at Jericho, though? I don’t have to come down there and kick some ass?” He yawned widely.

“No, they’re okay. It’s… I don’t want to stay there forever, but it’s not that bad. For now.”

“Where you wanna go then?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to be completely alone, but somewhere with… not as many androids around. People. Whatever. It’s too many, and nobody even really likes it there, Simon said, but they stay because it’s safe. And I get it, but I want to be… safe in a place I like. You know? Somewhere I… look forward to going back to. I don’t even know what that would look like, but somewhere that… feels good. I know that sounds stupid.” He glanced over to see Gavin’s head lolled towards him on the back of the couch, eyes twitching slightly behind the lids. “Guess it doesn’t matter if it sounds stupid if nobody’s listening,” he muttered, looking around the apartment. “Somewhere not too big, but… with enough space to walk around. Maybe to put up… pictures or something. With at least a couple windows.” He paused as Uranus slipped out of the bedroom and froze when their eyes met. “Somebody to talk to would be nice,” he whispered. The cat slunk to the kitchen, and in a minute he heard the sound of her crunching her food. Just that, and the slow, steady breathing beside him, and the soft hum of electronics all around. It was… peaceful. Daniel leaned back and closed his eyes too, just to listen. If this was relaxing, he could get used to it.

Gavin woke up slowly, and squinted against the sunlight streaming through the windows. There was a blanket covering him, and he struggled to pull it off. The apartment felt different.

“Good morning.”

His head whipped around to see Daniel leaning through the kitchen doorway.

“You still here?” Gavin mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s been fifteen hours. I had to check to make sure you were still breathing a couple times.”

“Phck off – did you… were you cleaning?”

Daniel’s LED flashed yellow. “Look, I know you said not to, but fifteen hours! After ten hours lying on the floor talking to Uranus I got bored! I had to do something.”

“Nobody’s making you stay here! Phck, I fucking told you I didn’t want a… an android cleaning my place!”

“I didn’t want to leave, I just – I didn’t want to wake you up and – look, you were tired, I know you haven’t had much time lately, and it really wasn’t that bad, it’s not like I did a lot, I can tell you at least make an effort. And I don’t mind, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t want to. It’s not because of my programming or because I’m an android or whatever – _phck_!” Daniel kicked the doorframe. “It’s not just my programming, okay!?”

“…Then why the phck would you clean my fucking apartment?” Gavin asked, anger beginning to turn to horrified fascination.

“Because, you idiot, it was dirty and it needed to be done and you were freaking sleeping, moron! Because you have a lot on your fucking tiny mind right now!” Daniel fumed.

Gavin raised his eyebrows, and Daniel’s glare deepened. Finally the detective looked away and guffawed. “At least you didn’t make me breakfast.”

Daniel snorted weakly. “Yeah, no. …You’ve barely got any food, and I don’t have any money. Wouldn’t spend it on you if I did.”

“Hm.” Gavin grinned slightly and hauled himself upright to make coffee. “What would you spend it on? Obviously not new clothes.”

Daniel shot him a venomous look, but then his eyes widened. “Oh! Wait, you’ll like this.” He pulled off his hoodie and puffed out his chest a little, revealing the deep purple and blue galaxy shirt with an orange tabby on the front. “Look! …It doesn’t look like Uranus, but I thought of her when I picked it!”

Gavin stared. “…Where the phck did you get that!?”

“Shut up!” Daniel bristled. “They had a pile of clothes, and I needed repairs so I didn’t get first pick but I thought… I thought it was… I mean it’s not that bad.”

Gavin shouldered him aside as he stalked out of the kitchen, and Daniel heard a few soft thuds, a muffled curse, and a plaintive meow followed by a string of hushed apologies. Daniel tensed when he returned, but then grinned.

“You – really?”

Gavin smirked, strutting back in wearing the same shirt. “I thought you raided my drawers overnight!”

Daniel let out a breathless laugh. Gavin pointed at him and stalked over until he poked the android in the chest, right above the thirium pump.

“Hey, fucker. Chill, okay? You’re like… so on-edge, you’re gonna snap.”

“I’m working shit out, shut up,” Daniel muttered.

“Yeah, I know.” He poked him again. “I’m saying if you’re gonna stick around, you’re gonna want to figure some shit out faster so I don’t push you into 100% stress. …Because you’d put up a hell of a lot more fight with all your limbs and not stuck to the wall, and I’m off today. I’m not dealing with that shit.” He paused. “…You shouldn’t have to deal with that shit. Either. I just – fuck, Daniel, it’s how I am, you know not to take me seriously, right?”

“…Mostly,” Daniel muttered.

Gavin sighed and filled his coffee cup, adding a few spoonsful of sugar. “Okay, well… work on that, huh? I’ll… work on it. Phck.” He took a long sip and made a face, then stirred in more sugar. “You don’t take the easy way, do you?”

“I guess not.”

Gavin shook his head. “Well that’s – life just sucks. Most of the time. That’s – get used to it.”

“I don’t want it to suck that much,” Daniel muttered. “What’s even the point, then?”

“Phck if I know.” He finished off his coffee in one last long slurp. “Mm. So you make it not suck so much. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t – everybody keeps asking me that, I don’t know!” Daniel snapped.

“Whoa there edgelord, I said chill.” Gavin went and rinsed out his cup. “I didn’t mean with the rest of your life, forever. I meant today. …If you’re up for it. I’ve gotta get groceries either way. Anything you wanna see?”

“I… I used to like going to the zoo with… or there were a lot of parks we went to…”

“Nothing wrong with that, but there’s no kids around, just us.” Probably not the time to mention that he’d tracked down Caroline and Emma Phillips. He hadn’t done anything about that knowledge yet, he was still thinking of what to say and how. He eyed Daniel thoughtfully. “Gimme a minute to get dressed. I’ll go to the store, then we can… I dunno, take a walk or something. If you want. Unless you can think of something better.”

Daniel shook his head. “That… sounds good,” he said cautiously.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deviancy is still a struggle, as is life in general, but Gavin and Daniel grow closer over the course of shopping, cooking, and walking. Life goes on around them, but inside something warmer and safer forms.

The thing Gavin had to remember was that Daniel was like… an adult, but like a baby at the same time. He had all this knowledge of the world, but no actual experience. And he didn’t always understand how things really were. It was going to get him hurt if somebody wasn’t looking out for him. And he… didn’t actually deserve that. Not as much as some fuckers did. …Not at all, really.

“Just keep your hood up and stick close to me,” Gavin muttered as they walked into the store. “And… phck, slouch a little, you’re walking like an android.” He grabbed a basket and started grabbing food. Daniel followed him silently for a while.

“You’re good at finding the best price,” he murmured after a while.

“Mhm. Didn’t have much money growing up, so I learned real fast not to care about anything but price.” He inspected a carton of eggs, then stuck them in the basket. “I’m spoiled now, though. Can pretty much get whatever I want, whenever I want.” He added a little pack of store brand cheese slices. No, not real cheese. ‘Cheese food,’ the package read.

Gavin, Daniel had been realizing, hadn’t had an easy life. He didn’t talk much about his past, but he’d say things like that now and then, or make even more subtle remarks, and Daniel would come face to face with the fact that not all children had been lucky enough to grow up like Emma. Before, anyway. With two parents who cared enough to give her every opportunity for growth, happiness, and a bright future, and the means to follow through.

“Could… I know you told me not to cook and clean for you, but could I cook something?” Daniel asked quickly. “Just one meal?”

Gavin frowned. “…Why?”

“Because I want to? Because you eat literal trash, and I can… I want to make something better.”

“You can’t even eat it, though!” Gavin grabbed a pack of thirium from the end of an aisle.

“I know that! It’s for you, dumbass. You can’t eat _that,_ what’s that for?”

“What do you think?” Gavin growled.

“What’s the problem, then?”

“You’re – I don’t want you… working for me, or whatever. Or worse.”

Daniel took a deep breath. “It wouldn’t be a problem if I was human,” he muttered darkly.

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “That’s different. If you could eat –“

“Okay – wait. Just hold on. I heard thirium tastes a little better heated up, so just… if I make you something to eat, you can heat up some thirium for me. Will that work? And I’ll taste the food too. We could eat together even we’re eating different things.”

Gavin made a face. “I just don’t want this to turn into a shitty situation for you.”

Daniel smiled slightly. “Thanks. I don’t want it to either. …But thanks for looking out for me.”

“Nothing too fancy,” Gavin muttered, looking away.

“Got it.” Daniel put a hand softly on Gavin’s arm for a moment before starting to collect food. “You like cheese… Anything you don’t like? Or allergies?”

“Green peppers, cucumbers, raw onions… Not always a fan of white fish. I dunno, I’ll pretty much eat anything though. Not allergic to anything.”

“Is there anything you really want?”

Gavin shrugged expansively. “I dunno, I was just gonna get sandwich stuff. Do your thing, though. Surprise me.” He grinned and… blinked, but one eye closed before the other.

“Was… did you just try to wink?” Daniel asked.

“Phck off, prick,” Gavin growled, smile dropping.

Daniel covered a laugh. “N-no, I just… I didn’t know. I wanted to make sure you didn’t get something in your eye.”

“You’re a fucking asshole, and I hate you,” Gavin muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning away.

Daniel gently pulled his right hand out so he could take the basket. “Let me get what I need. I’ve got something in mind that’s perfect for you, I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Gavin mumbled, then called after him, “Nothing fancy, like I said. …The EZ cheez is in aisle 3!”

“I’ll remember that!” Daniel called without looking back.

The city was mostly deserted now. The store down the street was one of the few still open and they only saw a couple people as they walked back, each holding two bags.

“I’m surprised there’re any humans left at all,” Gavin muttered.

“Why did you stay?”

“Gotta do my job, y’know? Fowler said anybody with a family could go if they wanted, or anybody who couldn’t take the new status quo. …Bastard looked straight at me like he expected me to throw a fit and walk out.”

Daniel glanced sidelong at him.

“I do my fucking job,” Gavin muttered. “I’m in too deep to quit now, after all the shit that’s happened, he’d better have a promotion for people who stayed.”

“Is, um… is Connor there?”

Gavin made a face. “No, but he’s sleeping on Hank’s couch and Hank’s talking to Fowler about hiring him on. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Be careful. Don’t let him corner you, he’s –“

“Yeah, I know. He’s deviant now. He deviated like… a million AP700s in Cyberlife Tower and led them to save the day for Markus.”

“Yeah… I heard. Big news around Jericho.” Daniel grimaced as they got in the elevator.

“He’s still a fucker though,” Gavin muttered, grinning.

“Of course he is, he’s the worst!” Daniel snapped.

“Yep. I hate that guy and if he fucks with you again I’ll punch him in his stupid face. Fowler can fire me, it’d be worth it.”

Daniel followed him quietly to the apartment, and caught Uranus when she tried to dash out the door. She didn’t try to fight him quite as much, and only ran to the other side of the room before coming back to meow loudly.

“Shut up, asshole,” Gavin muttered, shoving her aside gently on his way to the kitchen. “None of this is for you.”

“I could actually –“

“No, she’s got her own food! And loads of different treats and all kinds of shit.”

Daniel smiled. “All right. All for you, then.” He headed to the kitchen to lay out the ingredients and start cooking while Gavin put away the rest and put on a movie in the living room that he promptly ignored in favor of leaning over the counter to watch Daniel.

“So what’re you making?”

Daniel glanced back briefly. “You’ll see. The movie’s starting in there.”

“Mmhm. I wanna watch.”

“Then why’d you even turn on the TV?”

“Background noise.”

Daniel wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven, then started chopping vegetables. “…If you want to talk…. That’s fine.”

Gavin scowled. He didn’t need permission to talk in his own apartment. “Who says I wanna talk? I said I wanted to watch.”

“Do you even know how to be quiet?”

“Phck off.” Gavin stole a bit of carrot. “You come to my house, you directly defy my rules, you insult me…”

“You invited me, you said I could cook, and it wasn’t an insult, I like talking to you.”

Gavin stared at him.

“…You acted like you didn’t want to talk, but then you kept talking.” Daniel shrugged. “Fine with me, like I said.”

“…I still told you not to clean,” Gavin finally muttered, a little red-faced.

“Habit.” Daniel flashed him a brief grin. “And I don’t mind it. If nobody’s making me. …If it’s you.”

“Wouldn’t clean Tina’s place, huh?” Gavin laughed awkwardly.

“Oh I probably would. …But just you two. Anyone else can do it themselves.”

Gavin cleared his throat. “Listen, you’re… deviant now. Alive, free, all that shit. You’re not stuck to a wall in the basement with just me. You can… y’know, expand your horizons. There’s a lot out there.”

“I know,” Daniel muttered, blanching the vegetables briefly. “I – I don’t just want to dive into everything, that’s… too much. Even this is a lot.”

“Shit, if… listen, you do what you have to. Stop, leave, plug in somewhere… Whatever, okay?”

“It helps to have something to do,” Daniel confessed. “…And to talk to you.”

“Yeah, sounds like ignoring the issue to me.”

“I can’t… deal with my issues every second,” Daniel snapped, putting the ground beef in a big pan to brown. “I’d self-destruct if I tried. You want to talk about everything that’s ever made you miserable nonstop?”

Gavin frowned. “Okay, okay! I get it! Just… don’t ignore it completely, y’know?”

“I know. I messaged Simon while we were out, there’s a group of KL900s helping with… things like that. We’re setting up a schedule or something, I don’t know, he’ll let me know when it’s finalized. They’ve got a lot of androids to work with.”

“Figures. …But good.”

For a few minutes, the only sound was the soft sizzle of the meat beginning to cook.

“You got some kind of direct android message system, or do you guys have… like… phone numbers?”

“Both.”

“Uh. I guess… if you ever need to get ahold of me or something…”

Daniel turned, then hesitantly touched the top of Gavin’s phone. His fingertips turned white against it for a second. “…I put my contact in there too.”

“Shit, just like that,” Gavin muttered. “You could steal my identity like it was nothing, couldn’t you?”

“I got your phone number, asshole. Who’d want your identity?”

“Haven’t had it stolen yet, I keep hoping some other idiot’ll steal my debt and bills and shit. No luck so far.”

Daniel drained the fat from the meat and stirred in the vegetables with some herbs and broth. He took the potatoes out of the oven and mashed them up, adding butter, milk, salt, and pepper. The meat and vegetable mixture went into a glass dish, and he piled the potatoes on top, then covered it in cheddar cheese. He set it in the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes. Then the two bundled up and went out.

“So you feel cold now. What else is different?”

“Aside from emotions? …Most of which are just good-confusing or bad-confusing?” Daniel shrugged. “Heat. I had temperature sensing capabilities before, mostly for cooking and deciding what clothes to pick out for the family… but it’s different now. Pain, that’s a big one.”

Gavin made a face. “…Shit, so you were just… sitting in pain for months?”

“The archive system helped, but yeah. It’s better now.” Daniel rubbed a slightly discolored area of his neck, where the chassis had been repaired.

“You could’ve said something!”

“What could you have done? …In the beginning, what _would_ you have done?”

“I – I dunno, I… probably wouldn’t’ve believed you,” Gavin muttered.

“Yeah. It’s over now.”

“Listen, I know I was… really shitty to you. Um. Sorry,” he mumbled, looking away.

“You know, you… actually weren’t. …I mean, a little, sure, but that’s just who you are.”

“You’re a fucker.”

“Yep. But you didn’t torture me, you didn’t do anything unnecessary to me. Even if you were just doing your job you kept me calm, you talked me down from completely self-destructing, you grounded me a lot. You didn’t lie to me, or make promises you couldn’t keep.” He smiled a little. “Every time I woke up, you were there. And even if you weren’t always nice, you were… a constant. It helped.”

“Yeah, like you said, it was my job,” Gavin muttered and shrugged.

“And even when you weren’t there… you came back. You didn’t leave me down there, or just leave me turned off. …Thank you.”

Gavin kicked a small chunk of concrete down the sidewalk and hissed when it was harder than he expected.

Daniel laughed and bumped his elbow against Gavin’s. “Okay, I’m done making you uncomfortable!”

“Doubt it,” Gavin growled.

They walked through an old railway depot and headed towards the river – slow and full of ice chunks. Gavin led the way to a crumbling lighthouse on the shore.

“Ever think about going to Canada?” Gavin asked, gazing across the freezing water. “I know a lot of deviants do that.”

“Not as many now, but… no, not really. It looks pretty much the same. Gray and dirty and cold. …I’d rather stay here.”

“They’re both ugly, might as well stick with what you know. I get that.”

“…Mostly because you’re here,” Daniel muttered.

“Thought you said you were done making me uncomfortable.”

“Guess I’m not.”

They walked back slowly along the wide, cracked sidewalk. Both were quiet, lost in their own thoughts, and neither remembered when they had gotten close enough that their shoulders rubbed against each other.

“It’s not all… cold and pain and… confusion,” Daniel muttered as he slipped on some mismatched oven mitts and carefully took the shepherd’s pie out, now covered in a steaming golden-brown crust of cheese.

“Huh?” Gavin leaned in to sniff – it smelled amazing.

“Being deviant, I mean. Feeling things. Sometimes it’s… warm and… solid. Certain. Calm. …Maybe still confusing, but… not all bad. Hopeful, I guess?”

“Might not always be that way,” Gavin muttered.

“I know. But… it’s a mix, isn’t it? Not… just good or bad.”

“Course it is. Mostly. Sometimes it’s pretty awful.” Gavin grinned sardonically and leaned into him a little.

“Sometimes… it’s pretty great too,” Daniel murmured, shifting to lean into him. “…Hey! Don’t touch it!”

“I’m just getting this –“ Gavin pulled back with a hiss, flinging a bit of melted cheese across the kitchen. Uranus raced after it and patted it a couple times before devouring it, breathing loudly in excitement.

“You’re burning yourself for a fffffucking drop of cheese, you’re as bad as the cat!”

“She’s got good instincts.”

“You’re both going to lose an hand or something,” Daniel muttered. “And I can’t just… pop a new one on you.”

“Mm, I’d say it was worth it.” Gavin nodded to Uranus, who was licking her lips.

Daniel sighed and nudged Gavin aside with his shoulder and hip. “Just sit down. And don’t touch it again until it’s cool enough.”

He did, three more times before Daniel gave up and let him burn his tongue. But it was absolutely worth it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin tries to help, and Daniel doesn't appreciate it.  
> Daniel's made some friends at Jericho, but none like his favorite human.  
> The two cling to what they have, but reach for more...

G: I’m sorry. Still.

G: I didn’t tell her anything new I just said whyyou did it

D: You never asked me, you never told me, you just butted int my life, into _her_ life when we were both trying to leave it behind

G: You don’t think she deserved to know??

D: I THINK THAT WASN’T UP TO YOU

Gavin grimaced as another message came through. The receptionist, saying someone was asking for him up front. He hurried out, hoping it would help them both to cool off for a minute.

…And it would have, if the android hadn’t been pacing around the lobby.

“What the _phck_ were you thinking!?” Daniel snapped.

“I was thinking the poor kid deserved some closure! An explanation, y’know!?”

“Don’t – it’s none of your… fucking _business_!”

“I thought you’d –“

“What, you thought I’d want you screwing around with my past, fucking up her life even more!?” Daniel’s voice rose.

“I thought she should know you didn’t just – snap for no reason!” Gavin’s voice rose to match the PL600’s.

“So now her dad’s the bad guy. Her dead dad, who I killed.”

“Isn’t he!?” Gavin yelled.

“Of course he fucking is, but I am too and she would’ve just accepted that I’m a… a killer robot, and moved on. Now she can’t trust a single damn person, because her mom lied to her too and she knows it!” Daniel seethed.

“Is everything all right out here?” Connor stepped out of the bullpen, frowning at the two of them. They both rounded on him.

“Nobody asked you, plastic!”

“Can you mind your own business for once in your life!?”

“God, what a fucker!”

“Get out of here!”

Connor drew back a little, looking back and forth between the two before glancing at the receptionists and quietly excusing himself.

“Detective Reed, we’d all appreciate it if you would… have your arguments somewhere else,” Tina’s friend hissed, glaring at both of them.

“…Sorry,” he muttered, and Daniel echoed him. He jerked his head towards the door, and the android followed him outside. The air was cold, but the sun was shining weakly and there wasn’t much wind at the moment. The tension had broken, which helped even more.

“Sorry,” Gavin repeated, turning to Daniel. “I – I thought I was helping, I didn’t… think it through.’

Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “I… wish you hadn’t, but it’s done now. I kind of did… want her to know, I know that’s selfish of me.”

“…Part of being alive,” Gavin muttered, shaking his head. “Doesn’t make you a worse person.”

Daniel reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks, though. For… trying. For caring enough to try.”

“Shit, Daniel… yeah. Of course. I mean – phck.”

“Yeah.” Daniel smiled crookedly. “We’re both… fuck-ups, but… wouldn’t be worth it without you.”

“God, you’re a sap,” Gavin muttered, ducking his head.

“You love it.” Daniel slipped an arm loosely around his waist. “I’ve gotta be at Jericho for a while, but can I make dinner tonight?”

Gavin looked away, but leaned into Daniel a little. “Nah, but come over if you want. I got nothing planned.”

“Hm, yeah, I guess. If nothing else comes up.” Daniel gave him a light squeeze.

Daniel slipped into the apartment without knocking, scooping up Uranus despite her protests and flopping down on the couch next to Gavin. The detective glanced over at him and nudged him slightly with his elbow.

“Sorry I overreacted,” Daniel muttered.

“What? Shit, man, that was nothing. Nah, you’re good.”

“…I did hunt you down at work and get into a screaming match in the lobby so we had to be asked to leave.”

Gavin snorted. “I was half of that screaming match. I get worked up over shit too, and I don’t back down when I should.”

“You did, though.”

“So did you.”

Daniel curled into his side, and Uranus finally pulled free and jumped to the coffee table, shaking herself indignantly. He mumbled something inaudible into Gavin’s shirt.

“Hm?”

“Didn’t want to… lose anything else. You. I mean… lose you.”

Gavin could feel all the blood rushing to his face, but he awkwardly pulled his arm up to wrap around Daniel. The android felt… human, but not. Which was pretty much him in a nutshell.

“I’m a stubborn fucker, you’re gonna have to work harder than that if you wanna lose me.”

Daniel curled a little tighter into him. “I don’t.”

“Me either,” Gavin muttered quietly, resting his head on top of Daniel’s. “So nothing to stress about, right? You okay?”

Daniel nodded. “Mostly, yeah. You?”

“Pretty damn good.” Gavin sighed. “How’s your Jericho shit going?”

“Not bad.” Daniel shifted around a little. “The talking part’s fine, it just goes so slow. Interfacing’s faster, but… sometimes too fast. So we do some of each. But also, there’s not one android there who’s not messed up, even the ones doing the counseling and shit, so… a lot of times they have us do things on our own, or find a partner or something. You’ll have to meet Simon some time, he comes off all mild-mannered and humble, but he’s tough as phck. And he’s like, one of Markus’s right-hand guys.”

“Yeah, bring him by some time.”

“They still don’t want humans there. …Which I get. And they don’t make exceptions,” Daniel said apologetically. “Markus’s old owner legally adopted him, he can’t go in. Lieutenant Anderson came to pick up Connor once, he had to wait outside.”

“Fucker,” Gavin muttered. “He leaving you alone? Connor, I mean. Hank had better be, too.”

“I haven’t met Hank. Connor tried to talk to me once, I told him to phck off.”

Gavin’s arm tightened around him. “Good. I’ll shove his LED up his ass.”

Daniel burst out laughing, and hugged him tighter. “That’s – don’t, he’d phck you up. But I’d love to see that.”

“He’s a little bitch,” Gavin muttered resentfully. “You wanna go somewhere tomorrow? …Afternoon, probably. I’m not getting up before 10 or 11.”

“Yeah, I’m up for that.” Gavin could hear the smile in his voice.

“How’s your new roommate working out?”

“He’s the most fucked up guy you’ll ever meet. Like, half his face is melted off and he won’t let them fix it and he’s terrified of literally everybody. He had a rusty knife when he came, but they took it away. I got him a butter knife because he wouldn’t stop crying about it, told him to keep it hidden or they’d take that away too. He gets scary when he’s mad.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, but he’s okay. Annoying as phck, but I’m used to that.” Daniel squeezed Gavin lightly, grinning.

“Shut your hole,” Gavin muttered.

Daniel chuckled. “We’re working shit out between us, though. Like I said, he’s okay.”

“You’re… you’re a good guy,” Gavin murmured after a while, staring at the old horror movie on TV. “You’re in there helping the androids who need it, and… sounds like you’re good at it.”

Daniel shrugged. “I do what I can. It’s not always much. …A little of it’s my programming, but mostly I try to do… what you did. For me. Just… be there and see how I can make things better.”

Gavin grumbled incoherently into his shoulder, and Daniel smiled, reaching up to dig his fingers into Gavin’s hair.

When Gavin finally dragged himself out of bed just before noon the next day, Daniel was lying on the couch with Uranus curled up on his legs.

“I was about to wake you up.”

“No you weren’t, you can’t move,” Gavin muttered, stumbling into the kitchen. He returned in a couple minutes with a cup of coffee and Daniel sat up without disturbing the cat, so he flopped down next to him and Daniel lay back across his lap. Gavin sighed and ran his finger around the edge of the thirium pump through his shirt, and Daniel closed his eyes. “You been here all night?”

“No, I went back for a while.”

“They gonna give somebody else your room if you keep stayin’ the night here?” Gavin muttered with a sleepy chuckle.

“Nah, nobody else wants to put up with Ralph. …And I like having a couple different options.”

Uranus stretched and walked up Daniel’s chest to nuzzle Gavin’s chin, standing on the android’s chest and neck. They both laughed.

“Guess you’re just furniture.”

“Not much different than you.” Daniel grinned up at him, and Uranus swished her tail across his nose as she turned and jumped down. “Wanna get something to eat before we go out, or grab something on the way?”

“Mm, I’ll grab some toast or something. I might go back to sleep for a while first.”

“No! You’re up, you can’t sleep all day, you’ll throw off your sleep schedule!”

“Phck you, it’s my day off!”

“And we’re going out!”

“Then go,” Gavin muttered, gripping Daniel’s shirt tightly.

“Come on.” Daniel heaved himself upright, pulling Gavin with him. “…Or I’ll just carry you around like a baby, and then you’ll _really_ be embarrassed about me.”

“Asshole,” Gavin growled, pushing at him and stepping away. He grabbed his coat, and shoved Daniel’s at him. They locked the door behind them and headed out. Both were quiet until they got in the car.

“’M not embarrassed about you,” Gavin finally muttered.

“Hm?”

“I’m not.”

Daniel nodded slowly, LED rotating slowly blue. “So you’re just mad at everything.”

“Guess so,” Gavin snorted, starting the car. “Not… I mean not everything.”

“I’ve noticed that more lately.”

“’Cause before I was mostly mad about you, so you saw it all.”

“And now you’re not?”

“Not really. I – wasn’t mad _at_ you, I knew it wasn’t… your fault.”

“You seemed pretty pissed when I kept going self-destructive.” Daniel smirked lightly.

“You were making my job harder,” Gavin muttered. “I didn’t know how to stop you.”

“You figured it out, though. When you managed to quit being a shit-head.”

“Phck you.”

“You keep saying that, but I guess you’re all talk.”

Gavin’s head whipped around and he swerved halfway into the other lane. Luckily there weren’t any other cars close to them.

“Phck, ignore me, apparently deviancy means… just saying stupid shit,” Daniel muttered, hunching towards the window. Gavin could see the yellow and red glow from his LED in the glass.

“…Okay,” Gavin finally choked out, because he wasn’t sure what else to say. They parked at a nondescript building, and both shuffled uncomfortably inside, not quite looking at each other.

Loud thunks and clatters greeted them inside.

“Uh. Not sure if this is your thing… actually pretty sure it’s not. But… I came here once with some guys from the precinct, it was pretty cool. It’s, uh… different, anyway. And they’re android-friendly,” Gavin mumbled. 

Daniel looked beyond the front desk to see a row of wooden targets with dents in them. There were a few humans and a couple of androids throwing axes at them. “…Axe throwing?”

“I didn’t know what you’d wanna do, figured you probably hadn’t done this before. I dunno, it was a shitty idea, we can go –“

“I mean, we’re here, let’s give it a try.” Daniel shrugged and smiled awkwardly. “My aim can’t be much worse than yours.”

Gavin straightened up and glared at him. “Ph – y - I… You’re an asshole, my aim’s just fine!”

Daniel just laughed and walked up to the desk. They got a basket of hand axes and an hour in lane 5. Gavin waved off the attendant and walked back.

“So what you wanna do is decide if you’re gonna throw like a moron or like a man. Best way to do it is try to get the bottom tip here to lodge in the target. You can get anywhere else on the blade too, but you’ll need more force to your throw,” Gavin explained.

“…You know I don’t have a… projectile-throwing preconstruction, right?”

“No shit, idiot. Neither do I. It’s gonna take a few practice throws. So if you wanna look like a total moron, you stand facing the target, spread your legs a little, grip with both hands, haul it back over your head and then fling it at the target.” Gavin took an axe and did so. It clattered off the top of the target, and Daniel snickered.

“Or if you don’t wanna look stupid…” Gavin picked up another axe and took a half-step back, then heaved it at the target with his right hand. The top of the axe stuck in the second outer ring for a second before clattering to the ground.

“Wow…”

“Shut your fucking mouth, I almost had it,” Gavin muttered.

Daniel shoved him lightly. “Are you kidding!? You’re great at this! Let me try!”

Gavin stepped aside and inhaled slowly, watching as Daniel tried the one-handed stance first, adjusting his footing a few times before finally planting his feet parallel and throwing the axe with both hands. It just barely hit the bottom of the target.

“Phck, man, not so hard!” Gavin laughed.

“I – yeah, let me try again.” He picked up another axe.

“Wanna try one-handed? Here, move your foot back a little more. Not that much – yeah, there. Then kinda angle your body a little. Good. You know the weight of it now, keep your eye on the target.”

Daniel threw the axe, and it flew to the left of the target. “Shit,” he muttered.

“Practice, right? Here, try another. Uh – move a little more this way.” He pulled Daniel to the right a little more and gently pushed his head to the left. “Try now. Don’t try to correct your throw, throw the same way you did before. That was a good height. Imagine Connor’s fucking face.”

Daniel threw again, and this time his axe hit near the center of the target and fell to the floor.

“Nice!” Gavin grinned, nudging him. Daniel grinned back, and they took turns hurling axes at the target. They each got a few to stick, though Gavin got more than Daniel. At the end of their time they were both laughing, flexing and rubbing their arms.

“Shit, I’m gonna be sore tomorrow,” Gavin muttered.

“I’ll probably have to get my arms recalibrated,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “At least the right one.”

“Yeah, so, uh… you can pick something to do next time if you want…”

“Okay.” Daniel smiled slightly as he got in the car. “But that was good. Not something I would’ve done on my own. I liked it.”

“Yeah? Huh. Well… good,” Gavin muttered, and Daniel watched his ears turn bright red. “I – y’know, food’s kinda my go-to thing for… But you don’t eat… and there’s some good walking paths along the river. Belle Isle used to be real pretty before Cyberlife, can’t walk around there anymore. But we walk around a lot. So I – I dunno, glad you liked it I guess.”

Daniel just smiled quietly, LED a soft blue. They drove back to Gavin’s apartment, and were walking in the door before Gavin stopped short and Daniel bumped into him.

“Shit, I – did you wanna go back to Jericho? I didn’t even ask, I could drop you off if you want.”

Daniel covered a laugh and slipped an arm through Gavin’s. “That’s nice of you, but if I didn’t want to come back here I would’ve said something sooner.”

“Oh. Right. Uh.”

In the elevator, Daniel turned and pulled his hand back to Gavin’s elbow. “Are you okay?”

“I – phck, yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you turn into an actual idiot when you panic, and I’m an asshole but I’m not that much of an asshole. Is this weird? You and me? Together? …That’s what we’re doing, right? That’s what I figured it was, I thought this was kind of a date, I just don’t want to make things… uncomfortable for you.”

As the elevator dinged and the doors opened, Gavin grabbed Daniel by the hair and pulled him down just enough to kiss him roughly. It was full of desperation and urgency, and didn’t last long. When they pulled apart they were both breathing hard.

The elevator doors slowly closed again.

“Phck,” Gavin breathed, and mashed the button to open the doors. They stumbled to his apartment, and Daniel caught Uranus as she tried to dash out. When Daniel let the cat go and straightened up again Gavin was facing him, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

“Okay, I… I wasn’t sure, but I kinda thought… the same thing,” he mumbled. “About us. I didn’t… I mean, shit, you haven’t even been alive for a year, Daniel. You’ve got plenty of shit to figure out still, I didn’t want you to… I’m not gonna force anything on you.”

Daniel watched him for a long moment. Gavin’s respiration and heart rate were elevated, and he was sweating a bit. Daniel reached up and touched his cheek softly. “I… I don’t know if you know how… sweet you are. Not always, but… you’re… nice, you’re considerate, you’re honest, you’re… I just need you to know you’re… a really good person. And I… I appreciate that.”

Gavin was biting down hard on the inside of his cheek, staring slightly to the right of Daniel’s arm.

“…That said, I know what I want, and I know who I want it with, and whether we phck each other senseless or fall asleep cuddling on the couch, it’s all the same to me. It’s you. That’s all I’m here for.”

There was a soft thump in the bedroom, and they both jumped a little.

“…You and Uranus,” Daniel amended, and he leaned in to brush a light kiss to the scar on Gavin’s nose.

Gavin took a shaky breath, still not quite able to meet Daniel’s eyes. “I – look, I’m shit at… this kinda thing, I wanna do it right, I just…”

“I mean… just like the axes, right? Practice. So can we… try? Practice?” Daniel paused. “Be… together, however that… ends up being?”

“Phck yes,” Gavin breathed fervently, and pulled Daniel into a crushing embrace that was quickly returned.

**Author's Note:**

> You can hunt me down at [Anomalous Appliances](http://anomalous-appliances.tumblr.com) on tumblr.  
> While you're at it, check out [Enki's DBH/Sims stuff!](https://enkisstories.tumblr.com/)


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